In a very commendable move, Indian Civil and Administrative Service (Central) Association has passed a resolution that all IAS officers posted in different States and at the Centre will adopt one each a family of a martyred personnel of security forces in the course of combat with the Maoists. The IAS officer adopting such a family within his or her jurisdiction will look after all matters pertaining to the pension, gratuity, and all other benefits accruing to the martyred soldiers as allowed under the existing rules. The adopted family will be in permanent liaison with the IAS officer who will use his/her status and position to lend all sorts of help and guidance to the bereaved family to resolve their financial complicacies. In addition, the adopting officer will also take care of the school going children of the martyred solder and ensure their admission, payment of fees etc. with the assistance provided by the State Government or the Centre as the case may be.
It has been noted that more often than not, the families of martyred security personnel face innumerable difficulties and obstacles in the way of release of the pension, gratuity or the ex-gratia relief announced either by the Centre or the States. Their wards are facing problems in getting admitted to good schools and institutions. In order to help them remove these difficulties, about 700 young officers, of past four batches–2012 to 2015–will be asked to adopt at least one family in the area of their posting. Senior officers or those from state civil services, can also adopt such families voluntarily, said Bhoosreddy, the Joint-Secretary level IAS officer who is the honorary secretary of the Association. He appealed to the IAS officers who have been deployed as District Magistrates or Sub-Divisional Magistrates in various districts in the country have the primary responsibility of identifying the families and coming to their help.
This is a highly appreciable decision and we expect the IAS officers serving in our State will rise to the occasion and realizing that they owe duty to the families of the martyrs, will not spare any effort to come to their help.