Cabinet okays free pilgrimage scheme; grant to disabled soldiers doubled

Chandigarh, November 6

With elections to the rural and urban local bodies due, the AAP has gone in an overdrive mode to woo various sections of voters.

To be launched on Gurpurb

• The Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra scheme will enable people to visit various pilgrimage centres free of cost from Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev on November 27
• People can visit Hazur Sahib, Nanded, Patna Sahib, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Vrindavan in UP and Ajmer Sharif and Salasar in Rajasthan, besides Chintpurni, Vaishno Devi, and Jawalaji in HP
• Soldiers with disability from 76% to 100% will get Rs 40 lakh, with 51% to 75% disability Rs 20 lakh and soldiers with 25% to 50% disability Rs 10 lakh
• Nod to create a state cadre of patwaris and kanungos to streamline the functioning of Revenue Department

It seems to be part of this strategy that the Council of Ministers, headed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, today gave its nod to start a Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra scheme and double the grant given to soldiers disabled in conflicts.

The scheme will enable people to visit various pilgrimage centres across the country free of cost from Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev on November 27. Under this scheme, people will be facilitated by the government to visit religious places within and outside the state, including Hazur Sahib, Nanded, Patna Sahib, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and Ajmer Sharif and Salasar in Rajasthan, besides Chintpurni, Vaishno Devi, and Jawalaji in HP. A Cabinet sub-committee comprising of ministers Aman Arora, Laljit Singh Bhullar and Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal will come out with the finer details of the scheme soon.

The Cabinet also gave its consent to double the ex gratia grant of disabled soldiers both from military and paramilitary force with disability from 76 per cent to 100 per cent to Rs 40 lakh, soldiers with 51 per cent to 75 per cent disability to Rs 20 lakh and soldiers with 25 per cent to 50 per cent disability to Rs 10 lakh.

The Cabinet also gave green signal to amend “The East Punjab War Awards Act, 1948” for enhancing the financial assistance of 83 beneficiaries from Rs 10,000 per annum to Rs 20,000. The government provides War Jagir as financial assistance to those parents whose only child or two to three children had served in the Army during the Second World War, National Emergency 1962 and 1971 under “The East Punjab War Awards Act 1948”.

The Council of Ministers also gave its nod to create a state cadre of patwaris and kanungos to streamline the functioning of the Revenue Department.