She said that the Chambal region had given a large number of soldiers to the defence forces of the country including 15,000 serving personnel.
While addressing a function to inaugurate the 'Shaheed Smarak' at Morena, Sitharaman said "Army recruitment rallies were discontinued in the Chambal area after a law and order situation cropped up during one such rally about six years ago."
She added that if the local government maintained law and order, the rallies could be restarted.
Sitharaman said that employement opportunities for local youth would increase as a defence research centre was being opened at Sabalgarh tehsil in Morena district.
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Sitharaman informed that an army school would also be opened here from the 2018-19 academic session. She said that the defence ministry would initiate action to convert the cantonment area in Gwalior into a civil one.
Chouhan said that the state government was preparing a pension scheme for widows of martyrs.
Addressing the gathering, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that Chambal, which was portrayed in films as a dacoit-infested area, was actually one of brave soldiers and martyrs.