Too little Mr PC
While the CBEC Chairman, Mr. VP Singh deserves all praise for the ex gratia of Rs. 5 Lakhs to the families of the excise officers killed in the Mumbai blast, Rs 1 Lakh to the permanently disabled and Rs. 25,000 to the injured – these are too small amounts of money to be announced in the name of the Finance Minister of the country. Somebody is permanently disabled due to the madness of some terrorists and you offer him a lakh of rupees! It is demeaning! What is Five lakhs of rupees to a young lady who has just lost her husband?.,
This was a great opportunity for the CBEC to tell its staff that at least in times of tragedy, there is a government to stand with you and offer some solace. With so much of money lying in the welfare fund, the Board should have been a little more liberal. When an IPS officer was killed by naxalites in Bihar, the poor state government apart from an ex gratia of Rs. 10 Lakhs, announced a house for the wife of the officer any where in the country apart from paying her the salary her husband would have got till his actual retirement date. If poor Bihar could do it, the rich CBEC could have done much better, especially when they have so much money in the welfare fund. The CBEC should have extended the gesture to the CBDT also as they don’t have a welfare fund.
DDT suggests-
1. The spouse of the dead and seriously injured should be given a job immediately in the department;
2. Give them a pension equal to the last salary drawn by the deceased or seriously disabled – with periodical increments.
3. The government should bear the entire educational expenditure of the children till they are employed
4. Provide a free housing accommodation for the next 25 years wherever they want to stay.
5. If the complicated government rules do not allow all this, use the money from the welfare fund.
6. In any case, cut the red tape and do things fast. Designate a Chief Commissioner in Mumbai to be personally responsible to ensure that the families do get the aid on time.
7. Treat this as a life, not a file.
This is a great opportunity for us to prove that beyond our daily routine nonsense of assumed collection of revenue and producing tons of data, we also CARE.