Security Related Expenditure (Relief and Rehabilitation)

What is the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme?

Security Related Expenditure (Relief and Rehabilitation) is a scheme of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under which the Central Government reimburses States affected by insurgency and Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) for a range of security, relief and rehabilitation costs. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the scheme has operated since 1989-90 and forms part of the Centre's support to disturbed States, originally introduced for Jammu and Kashmir and extended over the years to North-Eastern States and LWE-affected States.

SRE is not an individual-benefit scheme. It is a funding arrangement between the Centre and State governments. Most approved expenditure is shared in a 90:10 ratio, with the Centre bearing 90 per cent; the State first incurs the cost and then claims reimbursement from the MHA. The relief and rehabilitation that ultimately reaches citizens, ex-gratia to families, help for migrants, rehabilitation of surrendered cadres, is delivered by the State and district administration, financed in part through SRE.

What does SRE cover?

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, approved SRE items include:

• Training and operational needs of the State security forces engaged in anti-insurgency and anti-LWE operations.
• Ex-gratia payment to the families of civilians and government servants killed or injured in insurgency or LWE violence.
• Relief and rehabilitation of victims, and of migrants displaced by violence.
• Rehabilitation of surrendered cadres under the surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy, which typically includes an immediate grant, a monthly stipend for a fixed period, vocational training and incentives for surrendered weapons. The exact amounts are fixed by the concerned State and the MHA and vary by State and by the category of the cadre, so they should be confirmed with the State authority rather than assumed.

The scheme also meets certain honorarium, ex-gratia and logistics costs associated with running security operations in the affected areas.

Who is eligible, and who cannot apply?

SRE reimbursement is claimed by:

• State governments of insurgency- and LWE-affected States, through their Home departments, for the approved categories of expenditure.

Relief and rehabilitation under SRE reaches:

• Families of civilians and government servants killed or injured in insurgency/LWE violence, through State ex-gratia.
• Surrendered cadres, through the State's surrender-cum-rehabilitation process.
• Migrants and displaced persons covered by the State's relief measures.

Who cannot apply:

• Individual citizens cannot apply to the Ministry of Home Affairs. There is no personal SRE application form at the Centre. A citizen affected by violence must approach the State/district administration, which processes relief under its own rules and is reimbursed by the MHA.
• People in States or districts not covered by the scheme in a given period are outside its scope; the list of covered States and LWE-affected districts is revised by the MHA over time, and the number of LWE-affected districts has been reduced substantially in recent years.

How to apply for SRE relief (institutional route)

Because there is no citizen application, the real "process" is between the State and the Centre, with the district administration as the point of contact for affected people:

1. An eligible incident occurs, for example a civilian is killed or injured in LWE or insurgency-related violence, or a cadre surrenders.
2. The State/district administration processes relief — ex-gratia to the next-of-kin, or the surrender-cum-rehabilitation package: under its own procedure, using an FIR/incident record, death or disability certificate and proof of legal heirs.
3. The State claims reimbursement from the Ministry of Home Affairs under the approved SRE items, in the 90:10 sharing pattern.
4. The MHA releases the central share to the State after verifying the claim against the scheme's guidelines.

An affected family or a person wishing to surrender should therefore contact the District Magistrate/Collector, the Superintendent of Police, or the State Home department, not the MHA directly.

Why individuals cannot claim SRE from the Centre

The most common misunderstanding about SRE is that it is a compensation scheme a victim applies to the central government for. It is not. It is a Centre-to-State reimbursement mechanism. The benefit a citizen receives, ex-gratia or rehabilitation, is decided and paid by the State under its own notified rates and procedure, and the Centre later refunds most of the cost to the State. If you or your family are affected, the correct step is to file the claim with the State/district authorities.

Help and where to check

• Ministry of Home Affairs: mha.gov.in, for the scheme's placement within MHA's internal security and LWE-management framework.
• State Home department / District administration: the actual point of contact for ex-gratia, relief and surrender-cum-rehabilitation.

Because SRE's approved items, the list of covered States and districts, and the State-level ex-gratia and rehabilitation rates are revised from time to time, confirm the current position with the concerned State authority. This guide does not quote fixed ex-gratia amounts because they are set at the State level and differ across regions and categories.