Khattar announces relief, pension for mediapersons

CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday announced several incentives for mediapersons in the state which included a monthly pension of ₹10,000 to the mediapersons aged 60 years with 20 years of service, life insurance of ₹10 lakh and ₹20 lakh on sharing basis, and cashless medi-claim of ₹5 lakh.

Addressing the ‘Swarna Jayanti Journalists Meet’ at Indradhanush Auditorium in Panchkula, Khattar said that now mediapersons who had completed five years in the profession would be given recognition.

At present, there are two categories of mediapersons—accredited and non-accredited.

Now, accreditation would be given to one representative of each electronic media organisation at sub-divisional level, he said. Khattar announced that a new policy would also be framed for giving recognition to representatives of web news portals.

A committee would also be formed to give suggestions in this regard.

Apart from this, to facilitate media persons at district-level, media centres would be established in two rooms adjacent to or in the office of district information and public relations officer (DIPRO) in each district of the state.

He said the state government had also decided that mediapersons aged 60 years and above, who had completed 20 years in any news organisation, would be eligible to avail the benefits of pension scheme.

He said some media groups were indulging in yellow journalism which could bring them fame for some time but ultimately it created hurdles in the creation of a welfare socety.

Speaking on the occasion, the information,publicrelationsand languages minister Kavita Jain, said it was for the first time in the last 50 years of the state when such a journalists meet had been organised. Earlier, veteran journalist and former vice-chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal, Radhey Shyam Sharma, also spoke on the role of media in the society.