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The central government decided to extend the rehabilitation package to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in order to fulfil an assurance given to Parliament. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its nod to extend the package to the left out states and Union Territories for which an outlay of Rs 714.76 crore has been earmarked.
"It is possible that all the relief supposed to have been given to the victims has not been given, so it has been extended to enable the Centre to fulfil its assurances given in Parliament," I&B Minister Ambika Soni said. The package was meant for providing assistance to the victims in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Delhi.
The main aim of the proposal is to fulfil the assurance given by the government in both the houses of Parliament on the report of Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry into the 1984 riots, which claimed several lives. Necessary instructions would be issued to the state governments and Union Territories concerned for implementation of the Cabinet decision, Soni said.