The government (NDMA) has finally given a compensation scheme for teh Covid dead.
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Governments declares Rs.50,000 help for Covid deaths
- The story: India witnessed a massive second wave of Covid in 2021, leading to lakhs of deaths. However, there was no proactive plan for helping the families of the Covid-dead, leading to many petitions reaching the apex court of India, which asked the government to offer some help.
- After a long delay: Finally, the union government announced that States will pay an ex gratia amount of Rs.50,000 to the families of those whose deaths have been certified as Covid-19 fatalities. This was informed to the Supreme Court through an affidavit. (The compensation scheme has been put in place after Supreme Court’s direction on June 30 in a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal)
- Technical reason: The Centre said the scheme framed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) lays down that ex gratia compensation is also applicable to those involved in relief operations or those associated with preparedness activities, and that the states will disburse the money from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The assistance will be continued for any Covid-19 deaths that may occur in the future, added the affidavit submitted on Wednesday.
- The Union government contributes 75% of SDRF allocation for general category states and Union Territories and 90% for special category states and UTs such as the North-East states, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
- Underlining that NDMA “failed to perform its statutory duty” by not envisaging a compensation scheme, the court ordered uniform guidelines on ex gratia payments to the families of those who died of Covid-19.
- The court had clarified that the amount of ex gratia cannot be fixed by the court, and that the Centre and NDMA should determine the quantum after taking into account their policies and other relief and mitigation measures already put in place.
- How to use the money: For the pandemic, NDMA had so farsaid that there was no scheme for payment of ex gratia for Covid-19 deaths due to absence of such provision under the “minimum standards of relief”. State governments were also asked by the Centre not to use the disaster relief funds in case they wish to pay compensation to the next of kin of those who died of Covid-19. Some states, such as Bihar, Karnataka and Delhi, have been paying compensation on account of Covid-19 deaths from their chief minister relief funds.
- For whom: The ex gratia assistance announced by the Centre has not been limited to the Covid-19 deaths that took place in the first and second waves of the pandemic. It may be for deaths that may occur in future phases of the Covid-19 pandemic as well.
- How to apply: To apply for ex gratia compensation, the next of kin of the deceased will be required to submit claims through a form issued by the state authority, along with specified documents including a death certificate that certifies the cause of death to be Covid-19. The Centre has issued guidelines with regard to the issue of death certificates where it said that any death within 30 days of a positive Covid test would be considered a Covid death, irrespective of whether this happened at home or a hospital.
- How many dead: India’s official death count due to Covid-19 stands at just 4,46,107 (though unofficial figures are much higher). This number may rise in terms of the compensation due under the expanded parameters. Before arriving at the figure of Rs.50,000, the NDMA said the stakeholders considered a host of reasons -- primary among them being the uncertainty about future Covid deaths, the possibility of further waves of pandemic due to new variants of virus, sparing funds for mitigating other natural disasters, and the payouts made to vulnerable sections of population under various welfare schemes of the Centre and states.
- Insurance: On framing a national insurance scheme for Covid-19 deaths, the Centre told the Court that it is a time-consuming process as the groundwork has to be done, insurance mechanisms analysed and the same introduced with due diligence in partnership with insurance companies.
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the concept of "excess deaths". (2) Why did India fail to contain the second Covid-19 wave in 2021? List all reasons. (3) What is the moral duty of the union government in terms of the deaths from Covid? Explain from a humanist perspective.
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OLD NEWS ITEMS FOR REFERENCE (2021)
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