Centre announces additional compensation to Gujarat riot victims

New Delhi, May 22 (UNI) The Centre today announced an additional compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh each to the families of the 1169 people who were killed in communal riots in Gujarat in 2002, as part of a relief and rehabilitation package which also covers the injured and those whose residential property and commercial property had been damaged.

The centre's ex-gratia, which entails a liability of Rs 40.9 crore, is in addition to the compensation already given by the Gujarat government to those killed.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram told mediapersons after the meeting that a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh each would be given to those injured in the riot. However, the amount already given by the state government would be deducted.

He said the Centre would incur an expenditure of Rs 29.64 crore to provide compensation to the 2549 injured people.

The victims, whose residential property had been damaged, would get an additional ex-gratia of ten times the amount given by the state government less the amount already paid by the state. The additional liability on the same would be Rs 262.44 crore. The state government had already paid Rs 29.16 crore.

Mr Chidambaram said it was also decided to give additional ex-gratia for damage to uninsured commercial and industrial property. In this case also, the compensation would be ten times the amount given by the state government less the amount already paid.

The decision for payment of additional ex-gratia to the victims of the communal riots for damage to residential, commercial and industrial property would keep them at par with the measures taken in respect of the victims of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in Delhi.

UNI SH MIR DS1450