After Supreme Court rap, UP issues fresh notification on Muzaffarnagar relief

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After Supreme Court rap, UP issues fresh notification on Muzaffarnagar relief
By PTI | 26 Nov, 2013, 07.34PM IST

LUCKNOW: Following a Supreme Court directive, the Uttar Pradesh government today recalled its controversial notification issuing a grant of Rs 5 lakh for rehabilitation of "Muslim displaced families" in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts after the recent communal clashes.

The government, however, issued a fresh notification changing "Muslim displaced families" to all "displaced families" as eligible beneficiaries for the Rs 5 lakh compensation, an official said here.

The new notification also states that if any family is willing to return to its village, it would have to return the compensation amount.

On November 21, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Ranjan Gogoi had said, "All victims are eligible and equal. Better you (UP government) withdraw the notification (issued on October 26)."

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for the state government, had said that no person would be denied relocation and rehabilitation (on the ground of religion) and it should not have gone into the notification the way it had gone. "We will recall it and issue a fresh one," he had said.

The state government had given an undertaking before the court that it would "recall" the October 26 notification and said that in the fresh notification it would be clearly mentioned that the concerned authority will take care of each and every affected person and relief and rehabilitation measures would be applied "universally".

Communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas of western UP in September claimed over 60 persons and rendered thousands homeless.