HAS THE GOVERNMENT DONE ENOUGH FOR THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS OF 26/11 ?

A nation of 1 billion plus people was in mourning a year back, on the fateful day of 26/11. Kasab, an islamic fanatic along with a group of nine other heavily armed gunmen laid seize of Mumbai, resulting in the death of 166 innocent citizens with grave injuries to another 311. The Mumbai police, the NSG, backed by the sentiments of a whole nation fought back with antique weaponry, endangering their own lives. The battle was won but at a terrible cost.

In a spate of empathy, there were announcements regarding compensations to the family members of the deceased and those who have been injured on that fatal day. Our government promised compensations of upto Rs 3 lakhs for persons who have died or were greviously injured, from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The maharashtra government made announcements of Rs 5 lakhs for death and from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the injured. The Railway Claims Tribunal made announcements of Rs 10 lakhs for the deceased and upto Rs 1 lakh for the injured. The Tata Trust made commitments of Rs 5000 per month for a period of one year for the families of the injured and the deceased. Apart from the compensation packages announced by the maharashtra government and the railway ministry, the victims of Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus were also entitled to compensations from Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Railway Claims Tribunal. All these compensation packages announced by the central and state governments, rail ministry and the Tata Trust, were a ray of hope for the affected families.

Today, after a year have passed, if we try and assess the efficacy of the rehabilitation packages, we will be ashamed to know that as per the version of Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Dept out of the 403 people entitled to compensation from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund only 118 have received the same with 206 cases still pending with the PMO’s. The cases of the remaining 79 victims are yet to be forwarded by the maharashtra govt. The rule clearly states that a state proposal for compensation is mandatory for disbursal of money. Compensation package to be provided by the ministry of home affairs, also has a backlog of 161 cases, to whom money is yet to be disbursed.

And how have the many families fared who have received compensation from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund ? Many of them have not received the money even after deposition of the cheque in their accounts and some families have been sent outdated cheques, that have lost its validity !