Almost two-and-a-half months after Army soldier Sepoy Sunil Suryavanshi lost his life on February 3, the Maharashtra government has decided to offer ex-gratia compensation to his Satara-based family. Officials confirmed that a sum of Rs 5 lakh is to be handed over to his family, out of which Rs 3 lakh will be given to his wife Rekha and the remaining will be given to his parents.
The state government has also issued a Government Resolution (GR) stating that a sum of Rs 5 lakh would be given to the dependent families of every soldier who had lost their lives during emergency situations or attacks.
Suryavanshi, who is originally from Satara, was employed as a nursing assistant at Army Medical Corps. He was attached to the 19 Madras Regiment and was deployed at Siachen Glacier. While the Siachen avalanche killed more than 10 army soldiers, Suryavanshi was one of them and his body was found days later from beneath the ice.
In the GR released on April 21, the government said that Rs 5 lakh would be handed over to families that reside in Maharashtra and have lost their kin in emergency situations. The sum is to be distributed amongst the family members, including the widow, parents and siblings. While the concerned proposal was sent by the Soldiers Welfare Section on April 11, according to the resolution, the sum is to be paid to the kin of Suryavanshi soon.
“Out of the total Rs 5 lakh, 40 per cent of the amount will be paid from the Government Grants, while the remaining 60 per cent will be paid from the interests of Rs 42,21,72000, invested in nationalised banks under the Chief Minister Fund (Kargil) until March 2016,” mentioned the GR.
While the amount to be paid to Suryavanshi will be handed over to the local officials of Satara first, it will then be given to the kin of Suryavanshi through ECS.
