Uttarakhand’s Pushkar Singh Dhami government on Friday announced a 500 per cent increase in ex gratia payments for martyrs, with the provision of jobs to their dependents in all state government departments. This is the first such decision taken by any state government in the country.

In an unprecedented announcement on the occasion of Kargil 1999 battle anniversary, Dhami said that the Uttarakhand government has decided to increase the ex gratia payments for martyrs from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh. This represents a significant leap in compensatory payments for martyrs by any state government in the country. Apart from this, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that employment opportunities for the dependents of martyrs will no longer be limited to district headquarters but will be extended to all the state government departments.

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The ex gratia amount for martyred soldiers in the state will be increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh. Additionally, the time period for filing government job applications by the dependents of martyred soldiers will be extended from the current two years to five years.

Besides this, dependents of martyrs will now be given preference for Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ posts not only in district magistrate offices but also in other state government departments,” CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said as he addressed war heroes, veteran ex-servicemen, and their families to commemorate the Indian Army’s Kargil War victory in 1999.

“Uttarakhand, the land of warriors, will never forget the sacrifice of its 75 brave sons who laid down their lives in the service of the nation. The victory saga of Kargil is incomplete without the heroes of Uttarakhand,” Dhami said. The Chief Minister added, “As the son of a soldier, I have understood the struggles of Army personnel and their families since childhood, and they deserve to be appreciated in all aspects.”