Thursday, January 5 2006 17:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government today (Jan 05, 2006) increased the ex-gratia to be paid to the next of kin of victims of police firing at Kalinga Nagar from Rs one lakh to Rs five lakh, official sources said.

Each injured person would be given Rs 50,000 and one member of each affected family would be provided a job either in the government or a public sector undertaking, the sources said.

The government had earlier announced payment of ex-gratia of Rs one lakh to the next of kin of the dead and offered to underwrite the expenses of the treatment of the injured.

The sources said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had constituted a five-member ministerial committee headed by Industries Minister Biswabhushan Harichandan to review the government's rehabilitation policy.

The committee would submit its report to the government within a month.

The other members of the panel are Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal, Minister for SC, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Kalandi Behera, Minister for Family Welfare Pramila Mallick and Minister of State for ST Development Balabhadra Majhi.

Thirteen people, including 12 tribals were killed when police opened fire at Kalinga Nagar when they were protesting against commencement of construction work at the site of the six million tonne steel project of Tata Steel.