Covid victims to get special pension, scholarship for families
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday approved the grant of financial relief through the Special Assistance Scheme for Covid mortalities (SASCM/Saksham) to the families of victims, an official spokesman said.
The scheme aims to ensure sustenance of families who have lost their sole breadwinner due to coronavirus.
At a meeting chaired by Sinha here, the Administrative Council also approved the creation of a special cell in the Social Welfare Department for hand-holding the families of coronavirus victims and facilitating the extension of benefits under different government schemes, including financial assistance for self-employment.
Under the new scheme Saksham, the surviving spouse and one eldest surviving member of affected families would receive a special monthly pension of Rs 1,000 through Direct bank transfer (DBT), provided that they are not otherwise receiving any pension under other schemes, the spokesman said.
Additionally, he said the scheme would also provide special scholarships to children who lost their earning parent(s)/ sibling(s)/ guardian(s) to COVID-19.
The special scholarship would be paid annually at the rate of Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000 through DBT to children studying up to class 12 and higher education, respectively, the spokesman said.
“The cell will consist of the director general, Women and Child Development, director, Social Welfare Kashmir/ Jammu, Mission Director, ICPS, and representative of the Finance Department, the spokesman said.
He said with the launch of these schemes, Jammu and Kashmir became the first Union Territory to provide relief to Covid-affected families.
Meanwhile, the AC approved the proposal of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department to create 19 posts for computer section of the High Court. The Administrative Council approved creation of 3 posts of Assistant Registrar-I, 2 posts of Assistant Registrar-II, 4 posts of Section Officer, 4 posts of DEO, and 6 posts of Computer Operator. The decision of strengthening technical human resource at the High Court is expected to boost technological interventions in the justice administration.
IN another decision the AC approved the proposal of Power Development Department to augment the capacity of 220/132 KV Mir Bazar grid station from 320 MVA to 475 MVA at an estimated cost of Rs. 29.92 crores.
Once the grid station is commissioned at the new capacity, the power supply will improve manifold to cater to the demands of emerging consumer base including industrial and commercial segments. It will also improve reliability, distribution efficiency, voltage profile, reduction in faults, and voltage variations.
The Mir Bazar grid station which was commissioned in 2011 with a connected grid capacity of about 390 MVA, is presently feeding power to 4 districts of South Kashmir- Anantnag, Kulgam, Sopian, and Pulwama.
KV News
