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The Indian government decides to compensate victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots, even as a tribunal is held in the capital to record people's testimonies of the violence that shook the state almost five years ago
The Indian government has approved a compensation amount of Rs 3.5 lakh to the next of kin of each of those officially listed as having been killed in the Gujarat riots of 2002. Rs 1.25 lakh each will be paid to those who were injured in the violence.
"As reported by the state government, there were 1,169 deaths in the 2002 riots, and the number of injured was 2,548," said Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi after a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The government is open to cases that have not been reported by the state government, both in cases of death as well as the injured," Dasmunsi said, adding that the Indian home ministry would "consider, monitor and review" such cases.
At the meeting, Cabinet approved a proposal to pay relatives of the 1,169 people who died Rs 3.5 lakh, in addition to what they had already been paid by the state government. The total liability will amount to Rs 53.19 crore, Dasmunsi said.
In the case of the 2,548 injured, an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1.25 lakh each will be paid "which would be reduced by the amount already paid by the state government," he said, adding that the net liability would be Rs 39.2 crore.
The Gujarat government has paid an ex-gratia amount of Rs 30.10 crore for damaged residential property, which implied an additional liability of Rs 9.03 crore. The state government has paid an ex-gratia amount of Rs 17.18 crore for uninsured commercial or industrial property.
In a related development, over 200 victims of the Gujarat riots, rights activists and academicians from across 17 Indian states are currently testifying before a public hearing in the capital New Delhi on the violence and its aftermath. Their testimonies on the rise of fascist forces in India will later be released as a report.
"We are documenting the testimonies of these people, trying to make sense of it and present it as concrete evidence of people's experiences. We will try to reflect on what happened and also suggest what can be done," said Akoijam Bimol, who, along with Subharanjan Dasgupta, Nikhil Waghle and Sandeep Pandey, is a member of the Independent People's Tribunal on Gujarat.
Source: www.ndtv.com, March 22, 2007
The Hindu, March 21, 2007
www.iptindia.org, March 2007
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