They get property?
What exactly?
A good pay I would say.
A good deal they have one has to concede.
However, Lathial says they are poorly paid etc and gives a grim picture.
Who is correct, Zabanya or Lathial?
Defence Officers Housing Scheme (DOHS)...........i am not sure of the full form.........its what they are called.......
Each officer gets approximately 3-4 kathas (local area measurement unit, enough to build 2500-3000 square feet apartments) of land in and around Dhaka city. These lands are extremely valuable (worth crores in BDT). In Dhaka where planned residential areas are hard to find, these DOHS are more of a role model for the rest of the country; they are highly planned and the older ones like BARIDHARA DOHS have actually turned out to be posh areas......way out of reach of normal publics affordability (land prices in Dhaka are exorbitant, and are increasing at astonishing rates).
Considering the fact that even a Lt Gen gets 42K BDT ($580 approximately) as basic salary, it is a considerable reward the officers are getting paid.............with that kind of a salary, for his entire service time, he wont be able to afford land like that...........it would take more than 30 years of salary at that level to buy a 1.5 crore (considering the cheapest possible rate, the real price should be way more than that). This shows that if you actually serve loyally, you are really going to be rewarded (considering the fact that it is coming from a resource poor country like BD)
Check out the link
army.mil.bd/node/417
You cannot say they are poorly paid.........comparing to other government services, military as a whole are better off.........apart from the salaries, they also get to have RATIONS, HOUSING, HEALTH CARE and various other facilities that others can only dream about. One cannot expect to get more from the state. One should not whine about it. But it is always true that the salaries are far lower than the private sector........but then again, most officers get to serve under UN, whereby earning a decent amount in about a couple of years.
However, it can always be said that our army needs to be better equipped. There is no limit in ones wishes or imaginations. However, we need to think logically. Military expenditure does not earn a dime for us (only a few R&D schemes may turn out to be money churners, but that only is applicable for developed nations with huge resource base) and is actually a loss making entity. It is spent only due to an IN CASE factor. I am not advocating against it, but merely stating the facts and believe we should try to bring a harmony between our military and development expenditure........... Over the long run, development spending is going to pay out.
We live in a county where less than half a click away from the PM's residence, beggars, drug junkies and all sorts of similar things are seldom seen. It does not fit us to show off our military muscle while half of the country starves. We do need to protect our country from threats, both foreign and local........we need to ensure our development is more balanced, so that it can last. We however, do not want our country resort to the same philosophy as Myanmar........ we may be able to afford a much stronger military, but that will come at a price.......at the price of the poor people's food, clothing and shelter........ it will be at the price of the the young children's education, their healthcare. It might not seem much of a patriotic to some people, who seem to be blinded of their country's mis-fortuned half who barely manages to get on with their life..........and would always be attracted by the more glorious and glamorous military powers.
And I believe the same thing works with even USA..........even when US spends trillions of dollars on wars who's worth is questionable, USA cannot brag that poverty is non-existent in their country. Should not they concentrate more upon their own country rather that poking around all over the world.
Hope I did not hurt anyone's sentiment.
Thanks