Odisha govt to provide ₹20,000 monthly pension, medical benefits for those jailed during Emergency

The Odisha state government will give a monthly pension of ₹20,000 and medical expenses coverage for all those individuals from the state who were jailed during the Emergency and are alive as of January 1, 2025, according to a PTI report.

The announcement was made via a notification from the state home department on January 13. 

Emergency was imposed in India nearly half a century ago, from 1975 to 1977, by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Speaking to ANI, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, “The people of Odisha who were jailed under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971) during the Emergency, were demanding pensions. Our government has announced that a pension of ₹20,000 per month shall be given to them. They will also get health insurance and railway benefits [sic].”

The Odisha government constituted state-level and district-level committees to select the beneficiaries, per the report. 

A meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrat Sahu discussed the preparation of a detailed list of those who were jailed in the state.

Who Is Eligible For the Pension from Odisha Govt?

According to a notification by the state home department, the announced benefits will be available to all eligible people who are alive as of January 1, 2025.

How to Apply for Odisha Pension?

Beneficiaries will have to submit an application in the prescribed format to the Collector and District Magistrate along with documents and names of three prominent co-detainees and an affidavit in support of their detention under the relevant act.

All applications will be scrutinised before an applicant becomes eligible for the benefits of the programme, the report added.

Top Things to Know — Odisha Gives Pension for People Jailed During Emergency 

• Odisha CM Majhi declared the provision of pension on January 2 under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Defence of India Rule or Defence and Internal Security of India Rules.
• “The pension will be sanctioned in favour of the living persons (those who are alive as on January 1, 2025) irrespective of the period of detention in jail,” as per the notification.
• Besides the pension amount, beneficiaries are also allowed free medical treatment in accordance with the provisions of health and family welfare department.
• The benefits will take effect from January 1, 2025, it added.

About the Emergency in India

Late night on June 25, 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency in a broadcast on All India Radio (AIR), sometime after the Supreme Court granted a conditional stay to the Allahabad High Court verdict declaring her election to the Lok Sabha null and void. The SC asked Gandhi to stay away from parliamentary proceedings.

The 21 months were also known for excesses such as forced mass sterilisations, censorship of the press, suspension of constitutional rights and centralisation of power.

Hundreds of people across the country were imprisoned between June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, for opposing the Emergency.

(With inputs from PTI)