Enhanced relief for kin approved, RS told

New Delhi, December 17

An additional relief of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots has been approved by the government, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

“The government has approved the grant of enhanced relief of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of those killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots,” Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in reply to a written question.

Of the 3,325 victims, 2,733 were killed in Delhi alone. The rest were from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.

In 2006, the UPA government had announced a package of Rs 717 crore which included a monetary compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh each to the kin of those killed in the riots besides financial assistance to the injured. Of this amount, only Rs 517 crore was spent and the remaining Rs 200 crore could not be distributed because of a dispute over claimants.

The minister said the scheme for assistance to civilian victims of communal violence was effective from April 1, 2008. Under this scheme, an amount of Rs 3 lakh was given to the next of kin of the victims in the case of death or incapacitation, subject to the condition that no employment had been provided to any of the family members of the victims by the state government. — PTI