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Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said on Friday that the Centre has increased the amount of pension to militancy-hit old persons and handicapped in Jammu and Kashmir from Rs.500 to Rs.750 per month. The pension covers mainly widows of the victims of militancy. Recently, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has brought over 6,000 people under this scheme. Pillai said during the last fiscal that the Centre has provided Rs. 378.72 crore to Jammu and Kashmir under various development schemes He informed that the Centre has approved several aspects of cross Line of Control (LoC) trade including--putting in place a banking mechanism for trade by the Department of Financial Services, increasing the number of trade days from the present two to four days, procurement and installation of whole body truck scanners by the Defence Ministry, upgradation of infrastructure at the two TFCs by the Home Ministry. Pillai added that under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan for J and K, work on Khanabal-Pahalgam road was completed and 741 villages were electrified.

Centre enhances pension for J-K militancy-hit old people