Rs 3,000 aid for war veterans

HYDERABAD: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday gave a green signal to clear a pending recommendation from the Centre to increase financial assistance to war veterans and widows of martyrs of World War II from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 per month. The file has been pending since 2009.533 World War II veterans and 2,376 widows reside in Andhra Pradesh. They have been receiving a meagre amount of Rs 500 and Rs 400 respectively as a financial assistance from the government for the past several years.Most of these veterans are aged above 85 years and most widows, above 70 years. In 2009, the Centre recommended that the World War II veterans and widows of World War II martyrs need more financial support from their respective state governments. Though a proposal was prepared, the approval has been pending since then. The state exchequer will have to bear an additional expenditure of about Rs 10.48 crore per annum as against the existing expenditure of Rs 1.46 crore.