Earlier, the Centre had told the court that such compensation could not be paid as it applied only to natural disasters and also the states could not afford to pay Rs 4 lakh to every family.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to frame guidelines within six weeks for ex-gratia to family members of those who lost their lives due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah observed that it is the statutory duty cast upon the National Authority to recommend guidelines for the minimum standards of relief including ex-gratia relief to be provided to persons affected by disaster. A batch of writ petitions sought Supreme Court's directions to the Centre and state governments to provide ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh that comes under the Disaster Management Act (DMA) to the kin of the deceased who lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The court added that financial reliefs should be given depending on the resources and to the extent it is possible. Reacting to the Centre's request of changing the word "shall" in Section 12 of DMA to "may" so that it would not be mandatory for the government to frame guidelines for compensation under the Act, the Apex Court said that the language used in the provision is very plain and unambiguous. Earlier, the Centre had told the court that such compensation could not be paid as it applied only to natural disasters and also the states could not afford to pay Rs 4 lakh to every family.
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