Delhi-LG approves increase in monthly relief to Kashmiri migrants

New Delhi [India], October 18 : In a major relief to Kashmiri migrant families in Delhi, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has approved the enhancement of eligibility criteria for obtaining Adhoc Monthly Relief (AMR), being paid to these families, from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 27,000 per month, said an offical statement from LG Office.
This enhancement in eligibility will increase the number of beneficiaries being covered by about 70 per cent. Now, beneficiaries earning upto Rs.27,000 per month rather than the previous amount of Rs 10,000 per month will be eligible for AMR, added the statement.
This enhancement comes after a long gap of 16 years, when the eligibility for AMR was doubled from Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 10,000 per month, in 2007. In 1995, the GNCTD had fixed the eligibility for AMR amount at Rs 5000 per month.
The LG also approved bifurcation and addition of names in the Kashmiri Migrant Cards issued by GNCTD to facilitate, grown and married children of migrants, to get their own cards made and accordingly become entitled to AMR as separate units and families.
The registered Kashmiri Migrant families will now be allowed to declare their family and allow splitting of the family due to an increase in size. Birth in the migrant family would lead to an addition to the family and the death of a member would lead to the deletion of that member. Apart from this, a non-migrant girl marrying into a migrant family will be added as a member of the Kashmiri migrant family.
There shall be mandatory Aadhar seeding of data relating to the family members eligible for AMR. Also, the payment of relief to the migrants will be only through the Aadhar Payment Bridge System/PFMS, which will be as per the extant norms.
AMR is provided to the J&K migrants under the "Security Related Expenditure (Relief & Rehabilitation)" introduced by the Central Government in 1989-90, for supporting the relief and rehabilitation of those who were uprooted from the Kashmir valley during the militancy. In Delhi, AMR was provided to the migrant families registered by GNCTD during 1990-93.
At present, approximately 2000 families in the national capital are being paid AMR at the rate of Rs 3250 per person per month, subject to a maximum of 04 people per family. Out of this amount, Rs 1000 is the share of the GNCTD, and Rs. 2250 is the share of the Government of India, which is reimbursed by the MHA.
The monthly expenditure incurred on AMR is approx. Rs 2.50 crore. The number of beneficiaries is, however, expected to increase by nearly 70 per cent after factoring in an increase in the number of "units" because of the raising of the eligibility criteria and the rise in the number of family members due to splitting and addition that will now be allowed.