96 Ex-Servicemen protest outside NTPC Bhawan over 24-year salary, pension dues
New Delhi : Ninety-six ex-servicemen associated with the Dabhol Power Project/NTPC and Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited on Saturday staged a peaceful protest outside NTPC Bhawan at the SCOPE Complex on Lodhi Road, demanding immediate resolution of salary and pension dues that have remained unpaid for the past 24 years.
The protest came a day after the veterans addressed a press conference at the Press Club of India on December 26, where they placed documentary evidence in the public domain and stated that all constitutional, legal and institutional remedies had been exhausted without any outcome.
Speaking to the media at the protest site, the ex-servicemen said decades of delay have pushed many of them—now elderly—into acute financial distress, severely affecting access to medical treatment, food and housing. They said the continued non-payment of dues has impacted not just individuals but the dignity and future of 96 families, describing it as a serious systemic failure.
During the protest, a delegation of the ex-servicemen was met by NTPC officials. Two NTPC officials, along with beat officer Rajesh Chaudhary, assured the veterans that their grievances would be formally heard and requested them to return on Monday, when a meeting with the concerned authorities would be arranged.
V.S. Salunkhe said the veterans had pursued every lawful avenue available to them over the years and had been left with no option but to intensify their agitation. He said the assurance given by NTPC would be watched closely and that further action would depend on concrete outcomes.
Appealing for sustained media attention, Suresh Pachpute said continued silence on the issue would send a damaging message about the value placed on soldiers’ rights, while Chandrakant Shinde added that the matter has moved beyond individual grievances and now concerns the collective dignity of all 96 families.
Outlining the next course of action, Vijay Nikam said the group would be compelled to expand the protest, including an indefinite sit-in and wider mobilisation, if the assurances do not translate into time-bound resolution.
The ex-servicemen reiterated that their agitation remains peaceful, democratic and constitutional, but stressed that 24 years of unresolved claims have forced them to seek decisive accountability. They urged the government and NTPC management to ensure that the assured meeting leads to a concrete and timely settlement of their long-pending dues.
