Rs 714 crore: New package for ’84 riot-hit

Twenty-two years after the anti-Sikh riots, the government has brought some New Year cheer for riot victims. The Union cabinet today approved an ex-gratia relief and rehabilitation package for the 1984 riot victims, at a cost of Rs 714.76 crore, which will be borne by the Centre.

Announcing the package, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said: ‘‘A meeting of the Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the grant of enhanced ex-gratia, which includes payment in case of death at Rs 3.5 lakh in each case, in addition to what has been paid by the states’’.

Those who had been injured will be paid Rs 1.25 lakh after deducting the amount paid by the government under an earlier court judgment.

The Cabinet has also cleared a rehabilitation grant, of Rs 2 lakh per family, to 22,000 families that moved under duress to Punjab and are still living there. This will cost the Centre Rs 440 crore.