Odisha govt releases Rs 62 crore for payment of quarantine incentive to returnees

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has released Rs 62 crore from the chief minister’s relief fund (CMRF) to pay its promised incentive to migrants who have successfully completed quarantine at the state-run quarantine facilities.
In the first phase, incentive has been released for 3 lakh returnees in rural areas and 10,000 returnees in urban areas, said official sources.
While Rs 60 crore has been released to the panchayati raj department for payment of the incentive to returnees in the rural areas, another Rs 2 crore has been released to the housing and urban development department for payment to those in urban areas, official sources said.
Since the state government has allowed home quarantine for people in urban areas, the amount given to the housing and urban development department is less. “The money has already released to the district authorities and distribution of incentive has begun in many areas,” said an official.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier announced Rs 2,000 as incentive for returnees after completion of the mandatory institutional quarantine period of 14 days, which has now been reduced to seven days’ followed by another seven days of home quarantine in rural areas. Special relief commissioner P K Jena had recently asked the general administration department to release the amount from the CMRF to be paid as incentive.
In the rural areas, the state government has developed 16,644 temporary medical camps with 7.83 lakh beds.
Recently, the state government paid Rs 5.5 crore to the railway authorities towards transport expenditure of the migrants who have returned by various Shramik Special trains. The amount will be adjusted against quarantine incentive of the returnees.