The Gujarat government on Monday announced a significant hike in compensation given to kin of slain army personnel and in cash prizes offered to gallantry medal winners in an apparent bid to placate the agitating ex-servicemen in the State.
The compensation given to the wife or family of a soldier who has died in the line of duty has been increased from the current ₹1 lakh to ₹1 crore, said an official release, which informed the decision was taken by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The announcement came hours after 500 ex-servicemen from Gujarat gathered in Gandhinagar in the morning to agitate for their long-pending demands, including higher compensation for families of the slain personnel.
Though the new compensation of ₹1 crore is in line with the demands of ex-servicemen, they want the government to accept all their 14 demands and issue a Government Resolution (GR).
"We are not aware of such an announcement by the government. We will believe it only when a Minister approaches us and tells us what exactly the government has decided on our demands. We want the government to issue a GR. We will not stop our agitation until all our demands are met," said Jitendra Nimavat, president of Gujarat's Ex-Armymen Union.
The release issued by the State government also informed the monthly compensation of ₹1,000 currently given to the slain army personnel’s widow has been increased to ₹5,000. Similarly, each child of a slain soldier, with a maximum of two children, would now get monthly assistance of ₹5,000 instead of ₹500 till they finish their studies or turn 25 years of age.
The State government currently pays ₹50,000 as one-time compensation and monthly assistance of ₹500 to each parent of an unmarried army men who die in the line of duty. Now, parents would get ₹5 lakh as one-time compensation and ₹5,000 as monthly assistance for each of them, said the release.
The cash prize for the recipient of Param Vir Chakra, the highest military award, has been hiked from ₹22,500 to ₹1 crore, while an Ashok Chakra awardee will get ₹1 crore from the State government instead of ₹20,000, it said.
High-level committee to discuss other demands of army personnel
The release said a high-level committee of IAS officers would discuss other demands of ex-servicemen and submit their report to the State government for final decision.
Former soldiers of Gujarat have been holding protests at regular intervals to get the government to accept their long-pending demands. They had held a rally from Ahmednagar to Gandhinagar in June.
Other major demands include pension for the family, government job to one member of the family of each slain army personnel, and strict implementation of reservations in government jobs from class 1 to 4 for retired Army personnel.
The agitators also want a martyrs' memorial in Gandhinagar, agricultural land for retired army men as per rules, priority while issuing or renewing a gun licence, and removal of contract system in jobs offered to former army personnel.
The ex-servicemen have also demanded a full waiver of professional tax, the quota for their children in higher education and priority for their work in government offices.
