In a major step toward institutionalizing support for families affected by terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday launched a dedicated web portal to ensure timely relief, compensation, and compassionate appointments for victims and their next of kin.
“The initiative will streamline and expedite the process of providing relief, compassionate appointments, and other forms of assistance to those who have suffered from terrorism in the UT,” said LG Sinha during the launch.
Developed by the Home Department in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the digital platform is designed to centralize and maintain district-wise data of all terrorism-affected families across the Union Territory. Notably, the portal will also record instances of encroachment on the properties of victims or their surviving relatives—an issue that has often gone underreported.
In a bid to ensure transparency and eliminate any scope for bogus or duplicate claims, the platform includes robust data verification mechanisms. “Every genuine case must receive timely redressal,” said an official from the Home Department, adding that the portal would enable financial aid, ex-gratia compensation, and employment assistance to be processed more efficiently.
Lieutenant Governor Sinha is personally monitoring the progress of case redressals, underlining the administration’s commitment to what he called a “just and humane response to victims of terrorism.”
As part of the initiative, toll-free helpline numbers have been set up in both Jammu (0191-2478995) and Kashmir (0194-2487777) divisions. These helplines will be manned by dedicated personnel operating from control rooms, serving as direct citizen interfaces to register grievances related to pending relief, compensation, or compassionate appointments.
To further institutionalize follow-up mechanisms, Special Monitoring Cells have been constituted in the offices of the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police. These cells will regularly assess the status of applications, identify bottlenecks, and coordinate with concerned departments to expedite the resolution of outstanding claims.
Present at the launch, either physically or via virtual mode, were several top officials of the administration, including Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, Principal Secretary (Home) Chandraker Bharti, Principal Secretary to the LG Dr Mandeep K. Bhandari, Commissioner Secretary (GAD) M. Raju, Divisional Commissioners Vijay Kumar Bidhuri (Kashmir) and Ramesh Kumar (Jammu), IGP Kashmir V.K. Birdi, IGP Jammu Bhim Sen Tuti, and NIC’s SIO S. Jaskaran Singh Modi.
Officials say the portal reflects the administration’s ongoing efforts to provide systemic support to those whose lives have been upended by conflict, and marks a significant step in J&K’s governance reforms aimed at compassionate outreach.