Court-arbitrated decision for COVID-19 death compensation will help the poorest
The Supreme Court took a firm stand to persuade a reluctant Centre, and in a welcome turn of events, financial relief of ex-gratia to the families of those who died of COVID-19 ₹50,000 per deceased person Within 30 days of submission of required documents. The staggering impact of the pandemic may not be meaningfully addressed with a token amount, but it nevertheless provides immediate assistance to families who have lost earning and productive members. No other crisis in living memory has claimed thousands of lives in 18 months, although India has a high chronic and invisible mortality due to the disease and road traffic accidents. As of 13 September, WHO recorded 4,45,768 COVID-19 deaths and 3,35,31,498 confirmed cases in India, indicating that the current ex-gratia outlay will be of the order of ₹ 2,300 crore. The relief amount proposed by the National Disaster Management Authority is to be paid from the State Disaster Response Fund, which represents a dedicated facility for dealing with notified disasters, including COVID-19; State officials will prepare a people-friendly claim mechanism. New audits and re-verification of deaths have become a key factor given the move by many states to keep virus mortality down, with a significant number of deaths being attributed to co-morbidities rather than infections, and both There is an unquestionably low count of lives lost in Stages of the epidemic.
The ex-gratia payment decision puts the issue of compensation on a solid footing, and provides clarity for future matters, but it is up to the states to ensure that the process is smooth, accurate and sympathetic. It should be possible for such claimants to submit a simple form electronically. More challenging will be the issue of resolving cases where medical certification of the cause of death has not accepted it as COVID-19. In fact, such disputes have already entered the realm of litigation, with families seeking judicial relief, as doctors refuse proper certification and based on government instructions, citing underlying conditions of patients. Also, the Center should consider providing additional compensation in future, should COVID-19 be treated on par with other calamities such as cyclones, major accidents, building collapses and industrial accidents, where the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund of ₹2 lakh Approving. ₹50,000 for death and grievous hurt. In a positive move, the demand to include COVID-19 cases for compensation where people took their lives due to mental agony, has been accepted. Going forward, the Center should now expeditiously set up risk insurance for disasters as suggested by the XV Finance Commission, to which the States would readily contribute.
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