To woo around three lakh ex-servicemen in Haryana ahead of Assembly polls in the State, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday announced employment to dependents of martyr soldiers who sacrificed their lives in war of 1962 or in any later war, increase in pension of children of martyrs and in amount of “kanyadan” being given on wedding of daughters of ex-servicemen.
Hooda also announced construction of flats to be given on concessional rates to serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and para-military personnel.
The Chief Minister, who was addressing a Sammelan of ex-servicemen at Jhajjar announced that the Government would provide employment in group C or D category to one dependent of those martyr personnel of Armed Forces and Para Military Forces who were domicile of Haryana and had sacrificed their lives in the war of 1962 or in any other later war.
He also announced to increase the pension being given to children of martyrs from Rs200 to Rs500 per month and said that now on the wedding of daughters of ex-servicemen, financial assistance (Kanyadan Rashi) of Rs51,000 would be given instead of Rs21,000. Hooda also announced free travel facility in State Roadways buses for Gallantry Award Winner soldiers.
The Chief Minister said that those ex-servicemen and serving soldiers who would take loan from banks to get flats allotted by State Government on concessional rates, the Government would bear their burden of interest.
He said that the Government has decided to construct 50,000 residential flats for serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and para-military personnel and allot these to them on concessional rates. The first phase of construction of these flats has already begun and registration for flats has also commenced at Faridabad, Gurgaon, Mahendergarh, Jhajjar, Panchkula, Pinjore, Rohtak, Palwal, Rewari, Sampla and Bawanikhera. 18,000 flats are being constructed at Rohtak for the same purpose by a private builder.
The Chief Minister lauded the contribution of soldiers of Haryana in Armed forces saying that although the State has 1.3 per cent of the total geographical area of the country and accounts for merely two per cent of the total population in the country yet, every tenth soldier in the Armed Forces hails from Haryana. The State has about 19 lakh serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and their dependents.
Hooda was all praise for the outstanding sportspersons of Haryana saying that out of total medals won by India in recently concluded Glasgow Commonwealth Games, 35 medals have been bagged by sportspersons of Haryana. He also enlisted a number of welfare schemes and programmes implemented by the State Government during last nine years to raise socio-economic status of all sections of society.