AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday ordered that death certificates and surviving member certificates from those who lost family members to Covid will no longer be required to get compensation. The CM held a review meeting after a citizen reached out to him and said the process to get the ex-gratia amount of Rs 50,000 was full of hurdles and he was having to run around to get the documents in order.
“This scheme aims to provide some financial assistance to families as they mourn the loss of their loved ones. All these people are victims and do not deserve to be troubled because of paperwork. There should no longer be a need for submitting death certificates and surviving member certificates for processing of applications. Our duty is to console and support grieving families, not create problems for them; applicants should not be asked to come to office. There should be no delay in disbursal of amount over frivolous reasons. If the spouse is alive, give them the entire amount. If multiple children are surviving, divide the amount amongst them equally. Don’t pile up paperwork,” Kejriwal said.
Delhi, meanwhile, has received more applications for the ex-gratia than the number of people who have died according to the official tally. According to the government, they have received 25,709 applications but official records say that 25,087 people have died of Covid in the city.
Out of these applications, 24,475 have been tallied with the list provided by the MHA. “Verification of about 19,000 applicants has been completed. During verification, 1,250 people opted out of the scheme. At the same time, the Health Department has approved 9,043 applications out of 24,475 applicants under the scheme. So far, the ex-gratia has been transferred to accounts of 7,163 beneficiaries,” a statement issued by the government said.
Officials said the number was higher than the official deaths because some people from other states had also applied for the ex-gratia amount. Several people had also died outside hospital and in homes and funerals conducted as per the Covid protocol were much higher than the official Covid death count, especially during the second wave.
Covid protocol funerals were conducted even for those who did not have Covid positive reports, but displayed symptoms of the disease.
Officials will now cross check the names of those who died of Covid from the list provided by MHA or in the Delhi government’s official record to approve compensation.
Under the compensation scheme, the spouse, parents or children of the person who died are eligible for a one-time compensation of Rs 50,000 irrespective of financial background.
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