After 16 years, Delhi LG nod to hike Kashmiri migrants' aid to Rs 27K

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has approved the enhancement of monthly income criteria for Kashmiri migrants to avail the adhoc monthly relief from Rs 10,000 to Rs 27,000, officials said on Wednesday.

In a press note issued earlier in the day, the Raj Niwas officials said Saxena had approved an increase in the adhoc monthly relief to Kashmiri migrants in the national capital from Rs 10,000 to Rs 27,000 per month.

In the evening, an official said, "This enhancement in eligibility will increase the number of beneficiaries being covered by about 70 per cent. Now, beneficiaries earning up to Rs 27,000 per month rather than the previous amount of Rs 10,000 per month will be eligible for AMR."

This enhancement comes after a long gap of 16 years. The eligibility for AMR was doubled last in 2007 from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.

In 1995, the Delhi government had fixed the eligibility for AMR amount at Rs 5,000 per month.

At present, approximately 2,000 families in the national capital are being paid AMR at the rate of Rs 3,250 per person per month, subject to a maximum of four people per family. This amount is shared by the Delhi government (Rs 1,000) and the Centre (Rs 2,250).

The monthly expenditure incurred on AMR is approximately Rs 2.50 crore.

The number of beneficiaries is, however, expected to increase by nearly 70 per cent after factoring in increase in the number of "units" because of raising of the eligibility criteria and rise in the number of family members due to splitting and addition that will now be allowed, the official said.

The Lt Governor also approved bifurcation or addition of names in the Kashmiri Migrant Cards issued by the government to facilitate grownup and married children of migrants to get their own cards made and become entitled for AMR as separate units/families, the official said.

"The registered Kashmiri migrant families will now be allowed to declare their family and allow splitting of the family due to increase in size. Birth to a couple in the migrant family would lead to addition in the family and death of a member would lead to 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," the official said.

There shall be mandatory Aadhaar seeding of data relating to the family members eligible for AMR.

The payment of relief to the migrants will be only through Aadhaar Payment Bridge System, the official stressed.

AMR is provided to the Jammu and Kashmir 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 militancy.

In Delhi, AMR is provided to the migrant families registered by Delhi government during 1990-93.