New Delhi, May 22
The UPA government being already into the election mode, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced a relief package of Rs 330 crore for the victims of the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
The decision was taken by the union Cabinet in its meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, who also approved the proposal for the payment of additional ex gratia to the victims as also toward damaged residential properties and uninsured commercial property.
Finance minister P. Chidambaram said after the meeting, “The next of kin of 1,169 persons killed in the riots will be paid Rs 3.5 lakh ex gratia in addition to the amount paid by the state government, which will amount to an additional liability of Rs 40.91 crore to the exchequer.”
“A sum of Rs 1.25 lakh will also be paid to each of the 2,548 persons injured after deducting the
amount already paid to them by the state government,” Chidambaram added.
The Cabinet also gave its approval for the grant of additional ex gratia for damage to uninsured commercial and industrial properties, he said. For those who suffered financial losses due to damage to property, an amount of Rs 2.62 billion had been sanctioned.
“Data on uninsured commercial properties are being collected and it may not be possible to give the quantum of funds required. But the intention is to give some compensation to the uninsured commercial properties, which were damaged,” he added
The compensation comes six years after communal violence ravaged Gujarat. The Gujarat riots broke out after 59 Hindus were killed near the Godhra railway station when a mob allegedly torched the coaches of the Sabarmati Express train. In the terrible retaliatory violence that raged for weeks, more than 1,000 persons were killed, mostly Muslims.
