Srinagar, Jul 6 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday approved the enhancement of ex gratia relief to kin of defence force personnel hailing from the Union territory, who attain martyrdom anywhere in the country, from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. The Administrative Council (AC) approved the five-fold enhancement at a meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha here. Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting. "The Administrative Council approved the enhancement of ex-gratia relief from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh in favour of next of kin (NoK) of those defence personnel who hail from Jammu and Kashmir and attain martyrdom within the territorial jurisdiction of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir," an official spokesman said. Similarly, the Administrative Council also sanctioned ex-gratia relief of Rs 25 lakh in favour of NoK of those defence personnel hailing from Jammu & Kashmir, who attain martyrdom in consequence of official duties outside the UT but within the country. "These provisions will be made effective from 01.02.2022 and will remove the disparity between relief provisions in J&K and other states/UTs. The decision will also boost the morale of the soldiers who hail from J&K and are serving in adverse weather and terrain conditions," the spokesman added. PTI MIJ SRY