Chandigarh,August 22: Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has allocated the budget for enhanced ex-gratia payment to the next of kin (NOK) of battle casualties and disabled soldiers.
Disclosing this, a spokesperson of the Defence Services Welfare Department said that as the budget has been allocated, the department has written to the Integrated Headquarter of Ministry of Defence (Army) to ensure that the Battle Casualty Certificates in respect of martyrs of Galwan valley and other counter insurgency operations namely Sepoy Gurbinder Singh (3 Punjab) Army No. 2514989F, Sepoy Gurtej Singh (3 Punjab) Army No. 2516683X, Lance Naik Saleem Khan (58 Engineer Regiment) Army No. 18014108X, Naik Rajwinder Singh (24 Punjab/53RR) Army No. 2503271X and Sepoy Lakhveer Singh (4 Sikh LI) Army No. 4493039H, are provided on priority basis to ensure the disbursal of the ex gratia amount to the NOK.
It may be recalled that in recognition of the supreme sacrifice made by the soldiers during various operations including recent clashes in Galwan Valley on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and as a befitting tribute to disabled soldiers hailing from Punjab, the State Government has enhanced the ex gratia amount to NOK of martyrs and their parents from Rs. 12 lakh to Rs. 50 lakhs. Similarly, in respect of disabled soldiers, the ex gratia amount has been increased to Rs. 20 lakh depending on percentage of disability.
