The State Governments to Pay Rs 50,000 Compensation against Each Covid Deaths
NEW DELHI, Sept 22: The next of kin of those who die of Covid-19 will be paid Rs 50,000 each as ex-gratia by the concerned state governments, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The centre also clarified that the compensation would be paid not only to the families of those already dead but would be also applicable to such casualties in future. The state government would source the compensation amounts from their respective disaster response funds, and will be channelled through the District Disaster Management Authority or the district administrations, the government said in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court.
India has so far recorded over 4.45 lakh Covid-related deaths since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. “The ex gratia assistance…will continue to be provided for deaths that may occur in the future phases of the COVID-19 pandemic as well, or until further notification,” the affidavit said.
“Compensation will be given to families of even those deceased who were involved in Covid relief operations or associated in preparedness activities…The cause of death needs to be certified as COVID-19 in accordance with Health Ministry guidelines.”
The concerned families will have to submit their claims through a form issued by the state authorities along with specified documents, including those certifying the cause of death. The district disaster management authorities would ensure that the process of claim, verification, sanction, and disbursal was simple, robust, and people-friendly. “All claims must be settled within 30 days of submission of the required documents, and disbursed through the Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer procedures,” the Centre’s affidavit said.
Grievances, if any, will be handled by district-level committees consisting of Additional District Collector, Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), Additional CMOH or the Principal or Head of Department of Medicine at a Medical College (if one existing the district), and a subject expert.
The committee will, after verifying facts, propose necessary remedial measures, including the issuance of amended official documents. “In case the decision of the committee is not in favour of the claimant, a clear reason for the same shall be recorded,” the affidavit said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
