As a mark of respect towards the valiant soldiers serving the Armed forces in state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday cleared ex-gratia worth Rs 21.50 crore (Rs 25 lakh each) for 86 Armed forces personnel who have suffered physical casualties while serving the country.

 Chairing a meeting, Mann asked the officers to immediately release this ex-gratia amount started by his government for the first time in recognition of the enormous contribution of these brave hearts. He said that earlier, there was no such provision but his government has taken this initiative as these brave warriors suffer casualties during call of duty.  Bhagwant Singh Mann said that Punjab is the only state in the country to give Rs 25 lakh as ex-gratia to families of such soldiers adding that this was even much more than what 70% of the other states were giving to the families of soldiers in case of their death.

The Chief Minister said that after assuming the charge of office his government has decided to give Rs 1 crore to the distressed families as a mark of respect for the supreme sacrifice made by these heroes for the country. He said that this humble initiative of the state government is in recognition of the immense contribution of these sons of soil towards preserving the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that financial assistance to these families of martyrs is in consonance with the commitment of the state government to ensure the well being of the soldiers and their families.

 Dwelling on another issue, Mann reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to rejuvenate and ensure proper upkeep of the Sainik School Kapurthala. He said that spread over 190 acres of land this school is built in an aesthetically designed heritage building and the state government is committed to its proper maintenance and upkeep. He said that he has already flagged the issue with the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, which is managing the affairs of the school.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also gave nod for construction of War Memorial in every district of the state as a mark of respect towards the war heroes of the state. He said that these state of the art memorials will be constructed over an area of 1-1.5 acres and will be a befitting tribute to the war heroes. He also gave in principle approval for the design of these war memorials to come up in all the districts across Punjab.