Increase relief fund for terror-hit families in Punjab: ex-minister

BJP leader and former Punjab health minister Dr Baldev Raj Chawla on Saturday reiterated the demand for enhancement of relief package for the families which bore the brunt of terrorism in Punjab.He said this during a press conference here.

BJP leader and former Punjab health minister Dr Baldev Raj Chawla on Saturday reiterated the demand for enhancement of relief package for the families which bore the brunt of terrorism in Punjab.
He said this during a press conference here.

“The relief package for the victims of the 1984 Sikh riots has been enhanced. On the similar lines, the relief package for the families which suffered during the terrorism era in Punjab should also be enhanced and the extra amount should be paid to the family members of the victims.

The former minister said of the 10,636 terror-hit families, an ex-gratia amount of `1 lakh and `2 lakh was given to 10,194 and 442 families respectively. If the amount is enhanced on the pattern of the package released for riot-hit victims, each family will be paid Rs 3.50 lakh in addition to the ex-gratia received by them earlier.

A letter was written to the Prime Minister’s office in 2009 to press for providing relief package for 32,514 terrorism-affected families in Punjab.