Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday approved the grant of financial relief through the Special Assistance Scheme for Covid mortalities (SASCM/Saksham) to the families of Covid victims, an official spokesman said.

The scheme aims to ensure sustenance of families who have lost their sole breadwinner due to coronavirus.

Under the new scheme Saksham, the surviving spouse and one eldest surviving member of affected families would receive a special monthly pension of Rs 1,000 through Direct bank transfer (DBT), provided that they are not otherwise receiving any pension under other schemes, the spokesman said.

Additionally, he said the scheme would also provide special scholarships to children who lost their earning parent(s)/ sibling(s)/ guardian(s) to COVID-19.

The special scholarship would be paid annually at the rate of Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000 through DBT to children studying up to class 12 and higher education, respectively, the spokesman said.

PTI

Press Trust of India