Govt preparing to give 10% horizontal reservation to Agniveers in govt jobs: Dhami

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said the state government is preparing to give 10 per cent horizontal reservation to Agniveers in government jobs after they complete four years of military service.

He made the announcement at a programme held here to honour former soldiers and family members of martyrs on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Dhami said a proposal to give 10 per cent horizontal reservation to Agniveers after they complete four years of service under the Agnipath scheme is being prepared and will soon be brought before the state cabinet for its approval.

"We are preparing to give 10 per cent horizontal reservation to Agniveers in the police, transport, forest and other government departments. A proposal in this regard will soon be brought for cabinet approval. Agniveers who complete four years of service under the Agnipath scheme will get its benefits," he said.

The horizontal reservation is a type of reservation that is provided across all categories, namely the General Category, as well as vertical reservation categories – Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The Centre introduced the Agnipath scheme in 2022 for short-term induction of personnel in the Army, Navy and Air Force with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services.

The scheme provides for recruiting Agniveers youngsters between the age group of 17-and-a-half and 21 for a block period of four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for another 15 years.

Several states and central forces have already taken initiative to provide reservation to Agniveers Dhami said the state government is supportive towards soldiers and their families, and spoke of many steps taken in recent years with their welfare in mind.

The state government has increased the ex-gratia amount given to the families of the martyrs from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. The lumpsum and annual amount given to the soldiers decorated with gallantry awards has also been increased, he said.

The ex-gratia amount of Param Vir Chakra awardees has now been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore, the chief minister said.

It has been decided to provide employment training in drone operation to ex-servicemen's wives and daughters as Drone Didis, Dhami said.

The government is also providing the facility of free travel to Badrinath Dham to ex-servicemen, wives of soldiers and Veer Naris who have completed the age of 60 years, he said.

The construction work of the grand Shaurya Sthal (Military Dham) in Dehradun in memory of the martyrs is in its final stage, he said.

This Military Dham contains water from 28 rivers across the state and soil brought from the homes of martyred soldiers, he said.

So far, 37 dependents of martyrs have been provided government jobs.

Under this scheme, the period for applying for a government job has also been increased from two years to five years.

Apart from free travel facility in Uttarakhand Roadways buses to gallantry award winners, serving and former military personnel are also being given a 25 per cent discount in stamp duty on purchase of permanent property worth up to Rs 25 lakh.