Families of missing persons to receive monthly interim allowance

A monthly interim allowance of Rs 6000 is to be given to families who had obtained death certificates for missing persons, before the issuance of Certificates of Absence.

Recently, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), in a report had recommended the issuance of Certificates of Absence (CoA), instead of Certificates of Death, for persons who had 'gone missing' or had been 'abducted'.

Accordingly, the government had agreed to grant a monthly allowance of Rs 6000 for families who possess the CoA.

However, in a joint cabinet paper submitted this week, it was observed that several families are facing legal and socio-economic issues, since the CoA is valid only for two years.

It had then been agreed to grant the compensation for all families which had obtained Death Certificates for family members who had been abducted of gone missing, before CoA's had been issued.

The Finance and Social Progress Ministries, had submitted the cabinet paper to that effect.