State Home Minister Pritam Singh assured the dependents of freedom-fighters that the State Government will take necessary measures regarding their various demands. The Minister was speaking at a convention of the Uttarakhand freedom-fighters and dependents’ organisation here on Friday.
The occasion was also commemorated as the 90th anniversary of the organisation’s founding chairman Mool Chand Gupta. Speaking on the occasion, various office bearers of the organisation complained that the family members of freedom fighters had to approach the government to get even their minor requirements resolved. Stating that resolving the problems of the dependents of freedom fighters should be a top priority of the State Government, they made various demands for ensuring their welfare.
The organisation office bearers speaking on the occasion demanded that dependents of freedom fighters should be given at least five acres land for farming and sustaining their families. Pointing out that the leases for the land given to freedom fighters during the time of Govind Ballabh Pant had expired, they demanded that the leases be renewed and that the land be allotted in the names of the dependents.
They said that the history of India’s freedom struggle has not been included properly in the school curriculum due to which citizens do not even have correct information about the movement. It was pointed out that a Government order had been issued in December 2014 regarding free of cost provision of 100 square yards land each to first generation dependents of freedom fighters for constructing their homes. However, no action has been taken in this regard more than nine months after the ‘go’ was issued.
The speakers also demanded that necessary corrections be made in the order dividing two percent reservation in higher education institutes and government jobs for freedom fighter dependents into schedule cast, schedule tribe and OBC categories.