Too Little, Too Late

The apex court had asked NDMA to recommend guidelines for ex-gratia assistance to family members of persons who died due to Covid-19. Later, it expressed displeasure over the delay in framing guidelines for the issuance of death certificates to the affected families. Now, the government has taken a U-turn and responded

- Abhilash Kumar Singh

THE centre recently informed the Supreme Court that the families of those who died due to Covid-19 will receive Rs 50,000 as ex-gratia compensation. The assistance will also be given to families of those who died of the virus due to their involvement in Covid-19 relief operations or activities associated with the pandemic. The central government announced that the states will give this amount from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) came up with the guidelines regarding compensation after instructions from the apex court.

The exgratia assistance will be given subject to the cause of the death being certified as Covid-19 under the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). According to the procedure, families seeking compensation will have to apply to the disaster management office of the respective districts. Along with the application, the certificate mentioning “death due to corona” and the medical certificate will have to be submitted.

For many victims, it seems like a paltry amount. A plea had been filed in the Supreme Court seeking Rs 4 lakh as exgratia payment to the families. However, the center said that paying Rs 4 lakh as compensation to each victim’s family was not possible as it will dry up SDRF funds. The apex court had then ruled that compensation must be paid to the families and the amount will be decided by the centre.