Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Mr N N Vohra, today ordered time-bound disbursement of scholarships which are to be given to the identified militancy-victim orphans of the State, by 30th November. In this context he observed that an amount of Rs 19 crore has been released by the Centre for this purpose earlier this year.
Chairing the 5th Governing Council Meeting of the Council for Rehabilitation of Militancy Victims here this morning, the Governor directed Divisional Commissioners of the Jammu and Kashmir Divisions to personally monitor the payment of scholarships to the beneficiaries. He directed the opening of bank accounts for each of the beneficiaries for hassle-free disbursement of the financial assistance. Mr Vohra called for a thorough case-study being got conducted, through identified voluntary organization, to assess the impact of the rehabilitation measures taken since the inception of the Council in 1996. On the basis of the findings of such a study the existing policy and procedure could be suitably modified for effectively ensuring the welfare and empowerment of the victims. He also stressed the need for enhancing the vocational training of widows, to enable them to become economically self-reliant. In this context, he refereed to the successful experience of the Self-Help Groups which are functioning in several States for promoting women empowerment and indicated that this pattern could be adopted in the case of militancy victim widows as well. He particularly referred to the excellent work being done by several NGOs in Gujarat in this sphere.
The Governor urged the non-official members of the Council to find time to undertake tours to certain districts for gaining first hand knowledge about the impact of the various schemes on the status of militancy victims. He also asked the Social Welfare Department to bring out, District-wise, booklets which give complete information about the identified victims and the financial assistance being provided to them under various schemes tailored for their rehabilitation.
The Governing Council was informed that during the past financial year, 107 Motorized Tricycles were distributed among physically challenged victims while another 200 such Tricycles are being procured and distributed this year. The Council has released Rs 4.42 crore under various categories, including pensions to widows, handicapped and old persons, marriage assistance to young widows, scholarships to students, maintenance allowance for hostlers, psychological financial assistance and assistance to the exceptional cases. Since its inception, the Council has provided assistance amounting to Rs 17.11 crores to different categories of victims.
The Governing Council discussed various issues on the agenda and took several decisions to promote the welfare and rehabilitation of the militancy victims in the State.
The Council has been established to provide relief and immediate succour to destitute victims of militancy and to undertake various programmes for assistance to widows, orphans, handicapped persons, and old aged men and women of families affected by militancy with emphasis on the education and vocational training of orphans and widows. The Council is also undertaking programmes and projects for assisting in the physical, psychological and economic rehabilitation of the widows, orphans, handicapped and old persons, affected by the militancy related activities.
Among those present in the meeting were the Advisor to Governor, Dr Sudhir S Bloeria, Chief Secretary, Mr S S Kapur, Financial Commissioner, Planning and Development, Mr S L Bhat, Principal Secretary Social Welfare, Mr R K Jeerath, Principal Secretary Home, Mr Khursheed Ahmed Ganai, Principal Secretary to Governor, Mr B B Vyas, Assistant Secretary, National Foundation for Communal Harmony, Mr Prabhakar Sharma and Executive Director, Council for Rehabilitation of Militancy Victims, Dr Suraya Bhat.
The non-official members present at the meeting included, Mrs Nafiza Ali, Qazi Mohammed Amin, Mr Feroz Ahmed, Mr G J Nehvi and Mr M I Kirmani.