National

Battle Against Apathy

The Army needs much more to take care of Kargil victims

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Battle Against Apathy
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This time it is no different. Even as tensions and shelling in Kargil ease, mandarins in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are trying hard to raise funds for the rehabilitation package for an estimated 1,000 relatives of the Kargil martyrs.

The appeal for donations was first made at a press conference addressed by Adjutant General S.S. Grewal. He spoke of a Rs 300 crore sum required to cushion the hardship for Kargil victims and the need for Indian corporates to donate large sums specifically to the army. Gen Grewal's concern was understandable. The bulk of the Rs 290 crore which the nation raised for Kargil victims has found its way to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund rather than the National Defence Fund (ndf) or the Army Central Welfare Fund (acwf), the two funds specifically set up by the MoD to facilitate such packages. ndf has raised about Rs 20 crore while acwf has Rs 6 crore in its kitty. How much will actually flow from the pmo to the defence headquarters is anyone's guess.

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But barely 24 hours after his press conference, Gen Grewal became evasive and the MoD spokesman Swagat Ghosh refused comment, ostensibly due to bureaucratic pressure on defence forces to downplay such concerns. 'The package announced by the army is enough to take care of the Kargil victims,' he said.

But the tension over implementing such a package remains high. Insiders claim a bulk of the Rs 290 crore generated went to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund mainly due to the mileage attached to such donations. In some cases even donations initially meant for the acwf were diverted for reasons unknown.

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'In some cases there were sheer procedural lapses. Besides, total casualties are nearly 1,000 (407 killed, 584 injured and six missing) and much more than Rs 300 crore is needed for the employment, housing, education and medical package. Raising the amount will be tough. The concern is certainly not uncalled for,' said Maj Gen (retd) Ashok Mehta.

He is right. Three wars (1962, 1965 and 1971), Operation Pawan (Sri Lanka) and Operation Meghdoot have had their toll. And worse, despite promises, the donations have always remained below expectations. No wonder rehabilitation groups like the War Widows Association (wwa) and the Army Wives Welfare Association (awwa) are perennially starved of funds.

The situation is no different this time, with the usual quota of promises. Consider this: Minister of State for Telecom Kabindra Purakayastha has sanctioned pcos for the Kargil widows and downgraded the qualifications criteria from matriculate to fifth standard. Petroleum Minister V.K. Ramamurthy has sanctioned 500 direct dealerships of petroleum products (including lpg) for the bereaved. But previous records show only 20 per cent of the widows actually benefited due to rank red-tapism. Recently, army chief Gen V.P. Malik wrote a strongly-worded letter to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, highlighting one such case. Army records show countless cases of denied compensation, especially in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

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Besides the army, which has its own rehabilitation package for the families of those killed and wounded in Operation Vijay, other grants have been forthcoming. The Delhi government announced out-of-turn Delhi Development Authority flats and Rs 7 lakh for the families of Delhi-based soldiers killed in Kargil, Rs 4 lakh to the permanently injured and Rs 2 lakh to those injured but capable of service after treatment. The Centre has sanctioned employment to one adult member of the Kargil martyrs' families and the Andhra Pradesh government has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh to the family of army personnel (based in the state) killed in Kargil.

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'Implementation of relief is the main thing and that has to be monitored carefully,' says one army official. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he regretted that the corporate sector was not responsive enough. For example, corporates like hll, Tatas, Reliance, Procter and Gamble, etc. have not donated as expected.

'I do not want to get into pledges made to take care of the bereaved families but the Indian corporate sector's contribution has been low,' admitted a senior official of Reliance Industries, which donated a meagre Rs 1 crore to the acwf.

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