New Delhi: In a major move to honour those detained during the Emergency in 1975, the Odisha government on Monday announced a monthly pension of Rs 20,000 for individuals who were put in jails during that period. The pension scheme will be effective from January 1.
The historic decision follows chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi's pledge on Independence Day to recognise those individiuals who resisted the government move at the time. Those individuals who were arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, The Defence and Internal Security of India Rules, and Defence of India Rules (DIR) during the Emergency from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, will be eligible to apply for the pension.
"The people of Odisha who were jailed under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971) during the Emergency, were demanding pensions. Our government has announced that a pension of Rs 20,000 per month shall be given to them. They will also get health insurance and railway benefits," said CM Majhi, according to ANI.
Per home department resolution, the state government will also cover all medical expenses for the Emergency detainees. More than 300 people in Odisha are eligible to apply for the scheme, which would entail an annual expenditure of Rs 8 crore for the government, Times of India reported quoting sources.
Eligible persons have to apply for the pension and medical benefits.
District-level committees headed by the respective collectors have been tasked to prepare the list of eligible beneficiaries, TOI reported.
Those found to be involved in anti-national or criminal activities and punished by the court of law will be withdrawn from the list. The home department also warned prosecution against those claiming benefits by producing false documents. Pension will be recovered with an annual 12% interest.
"I would like to thank the honourable CM for this. He had made this announcement earlier, and today this has been notified. A work that was pending since long has been started now, and I would like to thank the CM for this," said Odisha Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, according to PTI.
Loktantra Senani, representing those detained during the 1975 Emergency, praised Chief Minister Majhi for providing pensions and benefits. They expressed gratitude for the BJP government's recognition after 50 years.
"We had fought for justice during that time of emergency, and went to jail. During that period, we were subjected to hardships. The situation was such that there was no proper functioning in the country, and everything was in turmoil," he told news agency IANS.
With the pension move, Odisha joins Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Assam, who have similar monetary schemes in place for Emergency detainees.
However, most of these states have different pension amounts for the detainees depending on the period they spent in jails. Odisha, meanwhile, has fixed the same amount for all irrespective of the period of incarceration.
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