Kin to get Rs 30L ex-gratia if person on poll duty is killed in act of violence

Haryana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pankaj Agarwal has stated that in the event of any violent acts, like road mine and bomb blasts and armed attacks resulting in the death of polling/security personnel during election duty, their families will be granted an ex-gratia amount of Rs 30 lakh.

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Election duty period would be considered from the date of poll announcement to the date of the result — inclusive of both days.

In cases where death occurs due to other reasons — while on duty — Rs 15 lakh will be provided. If an employee is permanently disabled due to the involvement of extremist or anti-social elements, Rs 15 lakh will be given, and in case of grievous injury resulting in permanent disability, like loss of limb, and vision, Rs 7.5 lakh will be provided to the families.

Agarwal said the ex-gratia amount would be in addition to the compensation paid by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the state government, or any other employer. The election duty period would be considered from the date of election announcement to the date of the result (inclusive of both days).

He said in each case, whether deceased or injured/disabled, it would be the responsibility of the  District Electoral Officer (DEO) and the SP to initiate the process of claim for compensation. This process should be initiated within 10 days of the incident. The Chief Electoral Officer's office must ensure that the case is cleared within a month.

He said the compensation covered personnel deployed in all types of election-related duties, all security personnel under CAPFS, SAPS, state police, Home Guard, and any private person, like drivers and cleaners hired for duty, BEL/ECIL engineers engaged in first level checking (FLC), EVM commissioning and poll day and counting day duty.

A person would be considered on duty as soon as he/she left residence/office to report for any election-related work, including training, and until he/she got back to his/her residence/office after performance of election-related duty. If any mishap took place during that period, it should be treated as having occurred on election duty, subject to the condition that there should be a causal connection between occurrence of death/injury and poll duty.

Meanwhile, Agarwal has directed all DEOs to ensure the provision of healthcare, first-aid, and other medical facilities for polling personnel at training centres, dispatch, and receiving centres. An ambulance equipped with doctors and paramedical staff must also be arranged.