Servicemen furious over govt's decision to remove ex-gratia

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru: The state government on Thursday announced that it will provide job opportunities to family members of martyrs, but they will not give ex-gratia and other facilities. The Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said that the Karnataka government has approved giving government jobs to family members on compensatory grounds.

 “The family members would not get 60x40 sq ft sites and Rs 50 lakh, and this will apply to all those who have not availed of aid from the State government. In Karnataka, there are over 400 such families, of which 200 are eligible to get jobs on compensatory grounds, as per our initial estimation,” said Madhuswamy in the cabinet.

This move has attracted a lot of backlash from servicemen across the state. Ex-Colonel Rajbir Singh, said, “People who have lost their lives protecting the nation are entitled to certain benefits. The government's decision to take away these benefits is wrong. The jobs that will be provided to the family members will also not be very highpaying jobs. So, it's unfair for them to suffer even after they have lost a family member.”Another serviceman, who didn't want to be mentioned, has also pointed out that, as per rules, the state government has to give two acres of irrigated land or eight acres of dry land, but the government does not go by those.

 “Instead of taking away the facilities, the government should add more facilities. They should offer better jobs and more money for compensation,” added Singh.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, on August 15, announced that the family of any soldier from Karnataka who loses his life in battle would receive an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh, along with a government job. The CM has also announced that the family would not have any problem getting a job.

“The job will be delivered to their doorstep,” said Bommai to the press on Independence Day, just 15 days before the state announced that ex gratia would not be given to family members of martyrs

However, as per government data, over 14 soldiers from Karnataka died on duty in the last three years. Only one family, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, who died after remaining buried for six days under an avalanche on Siachen Glacier in 2016, received land as part of the ex-gratia package