Veterans protest at Jantar Mantar over healthcare scheme and agnipath scheme

Hundreds of retired Army personnel gathered at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday to protest against what they described as poor implementation of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and the Agnipath recruitment model .

Representatives from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra attended the demonstration and demanded reforms in the ECHS , withdrawal of tax on disability pensions, and scrapping of the Agnipath Scheme.

Protesters alleged irregularities in the implementation of ECHS and said the scheme was failing to provide quality medical care to veterans and their families. Mahavir Singh, who retired from the Army after more than three decades of service, recounted a recent experience involving his father’s eye surgery at a private hospital in Noida.

“The government-approved amount under ECHS was around Rs 5,000, while a good-quality lens cost Rs 18,000 . If we wanted the better lens, we had to pay Rs 13,000 ourselves, ” he said. Singh added that the facility is not entirely free, as soldiers contribute about Rs 50,000 or more after retirement depending on their rank. “Hospitals say government payments are delayed by one or two years because budgets are cut,” he alleged.

The veterans also criticised the Agnipath scheme , introduced by the Centre in 2022, which allows the armed forces to recruit soldiers known as ‘ Agniveers ’ for a four-year term. Singh said earlier it took nearly a decade for a soldier to train and gain experience. “A regular soldier and an Agniveer are not the same . When recruits know long-term benefits may not come , it affects morale and creates divisions within the forces,” he said.

Nearly 200 veterans from Punjab travelled to the national capital to take part in the protest, according to a member of the Congress Ex-Servicemen Committee of Punjab.

Experts say reforms such as revising treatment rates under ECHS, ensuring timely payments to empanelled hospitals, and increasing budget allocation could help improve services for veterans. They also suggest reviewing the Agnipath scheme and expanding post-service job opportunities for Agniveers while clarifying tax rules on disability pensions to address concerns raised by ex-servicemen.