The Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired a meeting of the Executive Council for rehabilitation of victims of militancy: widows, orphans, handicapped, and old aged people for the year 2021-22.Administrative Secretaries of departments of Finance, Home, Social Welfare, and Higher Education, besides representatives of Government of India and National Foundation for communal harmony along with concerned officers participated in the meeting.It was informed that in 2020-21, 6,982 beneficiaries were given financial assistance worth Rs. 8.43 crore and 1,267motorized tricycles were provided to specially-abled persons across the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Secretary approved annual plan for 2021-22 worth Rs. 8.91 crore to provide financial assistance to 7,186 beneficiaries as a relief measure for victims of militancy. The financial assistance will be provided through direct benefit transfer (DBT) in the aadhaar -seeded bank accounts of the beneficiaries.Further, under the approved annual plan, 683 orphans will also be covered under a scholarship scheme to extend financial assistance amounting to Rs. 61.47 lakh.Additionally, keeping in consideration the special needs of persons with disabilities (PwDs), the Chief Secretary asked the Department to expeditiously conduct survey for providing prosthetic aid to the beneficiaries and saturate the demand within 4 months.