The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) will provide an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to the families of the deceased.
The Centre told the Supreme Court that the families of the deceased who died of Covid-19 and kin of Covid-19 victims who were involved in relief operations or associated with “preparedness activities" will receive an ex gratia of ?50,000 from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
The top court had directed the Centre in June to give an ex-gratia amount under the Disaster Management Act 2005 to the kins of Covid-19 victims. The apex court had then granted the Central Government six weeks to fix the amount of ex gratia and also extended the deadline multiple times. After which, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued guidelines related to ex-gratia for Covid-19 deaths.
The Centre told the SC in an affidavit that ex-gratia will be paid for Covid-19 related deaths that may take place in future as well or "until further notification." The concerned families will have to fill a form issued by the state authorities along with specified documents, including those certifying the cause of death.
Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, India has recorded over 4.45 lakh Covid-related deaths. Some states have already announced a compensation for the kin of the deceased including Bihar, that has announced Rs 4 lakh per family, Madhya Pradesh has announced Rs 1 lakh per family and Delhi has announced Rs 50,000 per family.
The DDMA has assured that the procedure of giving the compensation will be simple. According to the affidavit, all claims will be settled within 30 days of submission of the required documents and the compensation will be disbursed through Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer procedures.
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