The government on Sunday issued a notice calling for submission of such weapons by April 29. According to the Home Ministry, local authorities have collected over 1,000 illegal weapons from 30 districts. [break]The ministry had launched the arms collection drive following a cabinet decision on 27th February to provide the public another opportunity to submit their illegal arms.
According to Joint-secretary Shankar Prasad Koirala, spokesperson at the Home Ministry, the campaign met with a very positive response from different local authorities and stakeholders. He said, “Following requests by local authorities, we decided to extend the deadline. In many places, the process to submitting the weapons is underway and many more individuals and groups wish to submit their weapons.”
Koirala said those with illegal weapons are again requested to submit them to the district administration office or district police office or the nearest police station, within the deadline. This will probably be the last such opportunity for illegal weapons holders, a highly placed officer at the ministry warned.
If someone is found in possession of such a weapon after the extended deadline, the individual will be slapped a five-year jail term or fined Rs 100,000 or both, under the Arms and Ammunition Act-1963, according to the Home Ministry.
The government had launched a campaign to collect illegally possessed weapons in order to maintain peace and security. According to the Ministry, many were not familiar with the legal procedures for submitting weapons or registering them for legal possession. Many were also afraid of being charged after submitting their weapons. Among the districts, Illam has collected the largest number of weapons, Koirala said.
Compensation demand for lost weapons ignored
Meanwhile, the government has been indifferent to the demand for compensation for weapon holders who lost their weapons during the post-conflict period.
According to Home Ministry sources, an attempt to provide compensation was begun three three years back following demands from various places.
At the request of the government, the Home Ministry had provided for a mechanism for distributing compensation to those who lost their weapons.
The Home Ministry has records of 114 applications for compensation from 24 districts, but once the government begins distributing compensation the number of applicants is sure to rise, an official at the ministry said.
According to Nirmal Hari Adhikari, Joint-secretary at the Finance Ministry, the compensation proposal was in the study phase. We have been studying the directives from the Home Ministry against the criteria of depreciation of lost weapons, and there is some confusion, he said.
During the post conflict situation many people had submitted their weapons to the security bodies and many of them were lost or looted by Maoist combatants, an official said.
According to preliminary assumptions, the government has to allocate more than Rs 100 million to arms owners as compensation.
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