Emergency protest honorarium: Maharashtra govt to pay Rs 61.22 crore as arrears for 2.5 years
The scheme was embroiled in controversy even when it was started, as several potential beneficiaries from the socialist and Left movements had refused to accept the honorarium.
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One of the first decisions of Eknath Shinde’s government was to restart the scheme. (Express file photo by Narendra Vaskar)The Maharashtra government will pay Rs 61.22 crore as arrears of two-and-a-half years to persons who were jailed for protesting against the Emergency in 1975-76.
The government led by Devendra Fadnavis had started the scheme to honour these individuals who fought to save democracy.
The scheme was embroiled in controversy even then, too, as several potential beneficiaries from the socialist and Left movements had refused to accept the honorarium.
After the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress – came to power in 2019, it cancelled the scheme.
One of the first decisions of Eknath Shinde’s government was to restart the scheme.
Among the supplementary demands presented by Deputy Chief Minister and state finance minister Devendra Fadnavis in the monsoon session of the state legislature was the allotment of Rs 119 crore to pay not only the monthly honorarium but the arrears for two-and-half years.
Out of this amount, Rs 61.22 crore will be spent on paying arrears to as many as 3,339 individuals. Of these persons, 518 are from Pune district, 328 are from Nagpur and 301 are from Buldhana. The arrears will be paid for two years, starting from August 1, 2020 to July 31, 2022.
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