Punjab Govt to implement job reservation for ex-servicemen

Chandigarh, Mar 17 (UNI) The Akali-BJP Government today declared that the reservation policy for ex-servicemen in the government jobs would be fully implemented in Punjab and the scheme to honour the wards or families of the decorated soldiers by the finance department, abandoned by the Congress government, would be revived.

While addressing the triennial national convention of the war Decorated India here, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Defence Services Welfare Minister Punjab, said the government was committed to serving Ex-servicemen and would implement the welfare scheme for the defence services in the state often referred as the ''sword of India''.

The Minister announced that families or wards of war awardees would be honoured every year by the Finance Department under the scheme initiated by the earlier SAD-BJP government but abandoned by subsequent Congress government.

Capt Singh also said that all the officials had been told to show due respect to the ex-servicemen and any aberration would be dealt with sternly. Describing the war decorated as ''bravest of the braves'', the minister promised that he would be available for them whenever they needed to meet him. Capt Singh announced Rs 1.25 lakh for War Awardees Corps and Rs 5 lakh for War Decorated India Corps.

Finance and Planning Minister, Manpreet Singh Badal also assured the gathering that he would immediately sanction and implement the schemes which Capt Kanwaljit Singh had proposed for the benefit and Welfare of Ex-servicemen and war awardees.

UNI