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Mumbai `71 hero now fights losing battle: The Asian Age
Mumbai, Jun 03: Colonel Suresh Y. Rege (Retd) fought the enemy in the 1971 war, and won, but for the last 32 years he has been fighting a losing battle at home.
Mumbai, Jun 03: Colonel Suresh Y. Rege (Retd) fought the enemy in the 1971 war, and won, but for the last 32 years he has been fighting a losing battle at home.
Col. Rege received the Sena Medal for gallantry in the 1971 war. Those who got the medal were awarded Rs 3,000 in cash and the state government of Maharashtra passed a resolution on December 31, 1971 stating that all those who were conferred the medal would be given four hectares of unirrigated agricultural land and 300 square metres of residential land in a rural area.
But what seemed to be the "recognition of the contribution made by the armed forces for the defence of their country" turned out to be a reason for tremendous harassment. The colonel was asked to identify the suitable land himself. He did that and applied to the collector of Nashik, where the land was. For two years, Col. Rege made several trips to Nashik and was turned down on various pretexts. Then he got a letter from the Nashik collector stating they were considering his request. After a year of correspondence, he finally got a reply which said "there is no land available in Nashik district."
The same story was repeated in Palghar, Kelve, Thane, Malegaon and Niphad. In Palghar, Col. Rege had to face the toughest test as he was made to produce several documents, including his caste and income certificates. Surprisingly, he was also asked to show his Sena Medal. After complying with all formalities and rules and producing the required documents, he was finally told that the land in Palghar could not be granted as it had been encroached upon.
Col. Rege said, "I am 70 years old now. What farming will I do even if I do get the land? When I retired in 1985 I needed that land as my pension was a paltry Rs 1,100. Today, I feel fighting the war was easier." During his long struggle, Col. Rege says he had to face insults, red-tapism and blatant demands for bribes that he refused to pay.
"No one cared for a soldier who fought to protect the country. The collectors, tehsildars and sarpanchs of gram panchayats were disinterested in the fact that I was a gallantry award winner. I was made to feel like a beggar asking for a favour," he said in bitter memory of those long and expensive trips to various villages. In one village, he was asked to donate Rs 1,000 to the library of the gram panchayat to get a no-objection certificate from them.
Finally, Col. Rege closed his files and decided to forget he was ever awarded land; until a few months ago when the Maharashtra government passed another resolution saying that all gallantry award recipients who were awarded land would be given cash prizes instead. The cash in lieu of land for a Sena Medal recipient was fixed at Rs 20,000. A tired Col. Rege decided to put up his application hesitantly as he believed the amount was just nor fair. To his surprise he received a reply from the government that he had already received Rs 3,000 and was hence not eligible for any other compensation. "The Rs 3,000 which I received in 1971 was the prize with the medal. The Maharashtra government had nothing to do with it," he said, adding, "If I was in Punjab, or Jammu and Kashmir, I would have received my dues immediately." Col. Rege is now considering taking the government to court.
But what seemed to be the "recognition of the contribution made by the armed forces for the defence of their country" turned out to be a reason for tremendous harassment. The colonel was asked to identify the suitable land himself. He did that and applied to the collector of Nashik, where the land was. For two years, Col. Rege made several trips to Nashik and was turned down on various pretexts. Then he got a letter from the Nashik collector stating they were considering his request. After a year of correspondence, he finally got a reply which said "there is no land available in Nashik district."
The same story was repeated in Palghar, Kelve, Thane, Malegaon and Niphad. In Palghar, Col. Rege had to face the toughest test as he was made to produce several documents, including his caste and income certificates. Surprisingly, he was also asked to show his Sena Medal. After complying with all formalities and rules and producing the required documents, he was finally told that the land in Palghar could not be granted as it had been encroached upon.
Col. Rege said, "I am 70 years old now. What farming will I do even if I do get the land? When I retired in 1985 I needed that land as my pension was a paltry Rs 1,100. Today, I feel fighting the war was easier." During his long struggle, Col. Rege says he had to face insults, red-tapism and blatant demands for bribes that he refused to pay.
"No one cared for a soldier who fought to protect the country. The collectors, tehsildars and sarpanchs of gram panchayats were disinterested in the fact that I was a gallantry award winner. I was made to feel like a beggar asking for a favour," he said in bitter memory of those long and expensive trips to various villages. In one village, he was asked to donate Rs 1,000 to the library of the gram panchayat to get a no-objection certificate from them.
Finally, Col. Rege closed his files and decided to forget he was ever awarded land; until a few months ago when the Maharashtra government passed another resolution saying that all gallantry award recipients who were awarded land would be given cash prizes instead. The cash in lieu of land for a Sena Medal recipient was fixed at Rs 20,000. A tired Col. Rege decided to put up his application hesitantly as he believed the amount was just nor fair. To his surprise he received a reply from the government that he had already received Rs 3,000 and was hence not eligible for any other compensation. "The Rs 3,000 which I received in 1971 was the prize with the medal. The Maharashtra government had nothing to do with it," he said, adding, "If I was in Punjab, or Jammu and Kashmir, I would have received my dues immediately." Col. Rege is now considering taking the government to court.