5% marks benefit will be given to widows in govt jobs: CM
CHANDIGARH :Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that benefit of 5% marks will be given to widow candidates in recruitments done by the Haryana State Selection Commission. This benefit will also be extended to aspirants who had lost their father before they attained 15 years of age. Presently, this benefit is given to anganwadi workers and anganwadi helpers in the state.
Speaking as chief guest at the 20th anniversary celebrations of Loomba Foundation in Gurugram on Tuesday, the chief minister announced the decision to set up a separate cell for widows in the Haryana State Commission for Women, and increased their monthly pension from ₹1,600 to ₹1,800 from January 1, 2018. The pension will be increased to ₹2,000 per month from January 1, 2019.
Khattar said the monthly pension of ₹1,600 was being given to about 6 lakh widows in the state, the highest among all the states in the country. Apart from this, financial assistance of ₹700 is also given to them for the education of their two children below 21.
He said when the present state government was formed in October 2014, there was only one women’s police station in the state whereas now such police stations have been opened in all districts. This will help women, especially widows, get police assistance in criminal cases.
Former first lady of UK and president of Loomba Foundation, Cherie Blair, also spoke on this occasion.
Others present included founder-chairman of the foundation Lord Raj Loomba, foundation trustee Lady Veena Loomba, and Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Vijay Sampla.