Authority for sanctioning Democracy Fighter Honour Amount

(1) The Democracy Fighter Honour Amount under this Act shall be sanctioned by the Government level on the recommendation of the District Magistrate concerned, in the form prescribed in Schedule "A", and the last date for identification of applicants for this purpose shall be one year from the date of commencement of this Act. (2) The Democracy Fighter Honour Amount shall be sanctioned by the Government level from the date of application by the applicant and subsequent action regarding payment will be taken by the District Magistrate of the concerned district, except in the case of applicants under section 6(1). (3) (i) The Democracy Fighter must be a permanent resident of Uttarakhand and must have been detained under Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971 (Repealed) / the Defence of India Rules, 1971 (Repealed) in any jail in the country during the Emergency period from the 25th day of June, 1975 to the 21st day of March, 1977. A certificate to this effect issued by the Superintendent of the concerned prison shall be mandatory, and shall be verified by the District Magistrate; (ii) Where records are not available or have been destroyed, the District Magistrate, upon necessary verification, may satisfy himself on the basis of other relevant records that the applicant had been booked under relevant provisions of Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971 (Repealed) / the Defence of India Rules, 1971 (Repealed) during the said period for opposing the Emergency, and that his arrest/detention is confirmed; (iii) Where charges under laws other than Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971 (Repealed) / the Defence of India Rules, 1971 (Repealed) were also invoked, the District Magistrate shall satisfy himself that such charges arose in connection with the struggle against the Emergency and not for reasons unconnected with political causes; (iv) Where an applicant applies from more than one district, the District Magistrate shall obtain from him an affidavit stating that he has applied from only one district within Uttarakhand and has not applied in any other State; (v) On submission of an application by a Democracy Fighter or his widow/widower and consequent sanction of the Democracy Fighter Honour Amount, payment shall be made in accordance with prevailing, relevant and periodically issued Government Orders; (vi) The identified Democracy Fighter or his widow/widower who are receiving "Democracy Fighter Honour Pension" before the enactment of this act, will continue to receive "Democracy Fighter Honour Pension" as before which will now be called "Democracy Fighter Honour Amount" after the enactment of this act; (4) The Democracy Fighter or his widow/widower shall be entitled, along with one companion, to free travel within the State in the buses of the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation; (5) The Medical Department of the State Government shall provide free medical facilities to the Democracy Fighter or his widow/widower in Government Hospitals and under the "Ayushman Bharat Scheme" by the State empanelled hospitals; (6) The concerned District Magistrate shall submit the bill for withdrawal of payable amount to the concerned Treasury along with the name, savings bank account number, name of the bank, and bank-wise details of the amounts payable to the recipients, in accordance with prevailing Government/Executive Orders. The Treasury shall directly credit the Democracy Fighter Honour Amount to the bank accounts of the recipients. No advance payment shall be made in any case; (7) All records relating to the Democracy Fighter Honour Amount and other facilities shall be preserved and audited as per relevant rules.