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MHA releases ₹25 cr for damaged houses due to Pak shelling post Op Sindoor
As a special case, Modi announced additional compensation of ₹2 lakh for each fully damaged house and ₹1 lakh for each partially damaged house
Three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced additional compensation to the families whose houses in the border areas were damaged in Pakistan shelling post Operation Sindoor, Union home minister Amit Shah facilitated provision of release of ₹25 crore from his ministry for as many as 2,060 houses.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Monday, “Following the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding additional compensation for houses damaged in border areas, Shah ensured swift action by facilitating an additional provision of ₹25 crore from the MHA for 2,060 houses.”
While inaugurating the Chenab railway bridge, the world’s highest single arch rail bridge, that completes the 272-km long Udhampur-Srinagar -Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, Modi said last Friday that stung by India’s Operation Sindoor, a desperate Pakistan attacked innocent people including children in Jammu and Poonch.
As a special case, Modi announced additional compensation of ₹2 lakh for each fully damaged house and ₹1 lakh for each partially damaged house.
“The MHA has ensured swift implementation of this decision. Similar compensation will also be provided in the border areas of Punjab,” the ministry said on Monday.
Following operation Sindoor, several incidents of cross border shelling were reported in border districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Hundreds of families suffered due to cross border shelling on residential areas, schools, religious structures including gurudwaras, temples, mosques and commercial properties. The administration took proactive measures to anticipate possible events and ensure effective response. A total of 3.25 lakh persons were evacuated from the border districts, out of which about 15,000 persons were accommodated in about 397 shelter sheds or accommodation centres equipped with facilities like food, water, health care, electricity etc,” MHA said.
It further said that 394 ambulances were deployed in all border districts to take patients to hospitals for treatment during the shelling, out of which 62 ambulances were deployed in Poonch district alone. “A total of 2,818 civil defence volunteers were also deployed for services related to health, fire and emergency services, livestock, essential supplies etc,” it added.
Operation Sindoor was India’s direct military response to the April 22 terror strike at Pahalgam in Kashmir that killed 26 people in what was the worst attack on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai strikes.
Indian forces launched the operation in the early hours of May 7, bombing nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The pre-dawn strikes on May 7 --- in which at least 100 terrorists were killed --- sparked a series of attacks and counterattacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels. In one such counterattack on the night of May 9-10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 evening as the two nations reached an understanding.
Earlier, Shah visited Poonch on May 29–30, during which he handed over appointment letters on compassionate grounds to the family members of those who lost their lives due to cross-border firing.
“As per the norms, compensation for the damages caused by cross-border shelling was provided immediately,” MHA said.
