₹50-lakh grant: Khattar govt most generous in honouring slain soldiers

ROHTAK : When family of Sukma naxal attack martyr Abhay Kumar was offered ₹5 lakh compensation by the Bihar government, they refused to accept the amount calling it “humiliation” to their slain son’s honour. No amount of money can compensate for a life lost, but when a family’s sole breadwinner leaves behind young children, monetary help can go long way in funding their education and marriage.

In India, martyrs’ kin face disparity in compensation subject to the states they belong, even if they are killed in similar circumstances.

The recent example of this was when Punjab government announced ₹12 lakh compensation to its martyr soldier killed in ceasefire violation while Haryana announced ₹50 lakh for its soldier killed in the same event. Both died for the country.

Haryana government under chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar stood out in honouring martyrs when it hiked the solatium for slain army jawans’ kin to ₹50 lakh in 2014.

The state recently also passed a proposal to hike the ex-gratia for kin of paramilitary personnel killed in action, making it at par with the army.

“When my brother died, his wife and three school-going children had to survive by borrowing loans from family and friends. Fortunately, the Haryana government hiked compensation for families of paramilitary personnel. Now, even we can think of affording good colleges for our children,” said Ramesh Kumar, brother of BSF jawan Rai Singh who was killed last November during ceasefire violation in Kashmir.

As per Haryana government, it has given appointment to 152 dependents of martyrs in the last three years. They include 141 kin of army personnel and 11 of the paramilitary. To do away with the paperwork that causes delay in grant of compensation, the state government recently gave powers to deputy commissioners to release ex-gratia amount to martyrs’ families taking cognisance of reliable media reports. Military experts, meanwhile, demand that the Centre should constitute a committee that coordinates with states to decide the compensation for martyrs’ kin.

“A soldier does not die for a state, but for the country. So it is the duty of the Centre to ensure their families are fairly and equally compensated,” said Major General Satbir Singh (retd), who was at the forefront of One Rank One Pension (OROP) agitation. “Haryana’s ₹50 lakh is still respectable, but Punjab’s ₹12 lakh compensation is peanuts for a family of four to survive for the rest of their lives. The government should consider setting ₹1 crore as the minimum compensation for martyrs’ families,” he added.

STATE RECENTLY PASSED PROPOSAL TO HIKE EX GRATIA FOR KIN OF PARAMILITARY PERSONNEL KILLED IN ACTION