Over 9,600 applications received for financial aid to Covid-19 victims: Kailash Gahlot

The financial assistance scheme for families of the victims of Covid-19 was notified on June 23 this year, after the second wave of the pandemic took a heavy toll in Delhi. Revenue minister Kailash Gahlot said a list of 25,709 residents who died of Covid-19 has been shared by the health department

New Delhi:The Delhi government has so far received 9,643 applications seeking ex-gratia relief under the “Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Parivar Arthik Sahayata Yojna” out of which compensation was disbursed in 6,019 cases, revenue minister Kailash Gahlot said on Monday.

Delhi revenue minister Kailash Gahlot said more than 9,600 people have applied for the Delhi government’s financial aid scheme for the families of the victims of Covid-19 -- Mukhyamantri Covid 19 Parivar Arthik Sahayata Yojna. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

The financial assistance scheme for Covid-19 deaths was notified on June 23 this year, after the second wave of the pandemic took a heavy toll in Delhi.

It covers a one-time assistance of ₹50,000 for each Covid-19 death in the family and a monthly assistance of ₹2,500 for families that lost their primary breadwinner and for children orphaned by the viral disease.

Gahlot held a review meeting of the scheme on Monday, during which he ordered deploying senior officers on rotation at the government’s call centre located in Noida to handle queries from people about the programmes and assist potential applicants.

The Delhi High Court also has been reviewing the scheme on a regular basis and has sought an action taken report from the Delhi government on the same in its hearing scheduled next month.

“A list of 25,709 residents of Delhi who died of Covid-19 has been shared by the health department to all the 11 districts of the city. They have been segregated district wise by the revenue department. Till date, around 9,643 applications have been received for grant of the ex-gratia relief, of which 6,995 applications have been approved...and money has been disbursed in 6,019 cases,” said Gahlot.

“We are taking utmost care to ensure the grieving families aren’t troubled. Officials have been specifically directed to handle all cases with sensitivity. The number of applications has started to gradually increase as teams of all the SDMs are now physically visiting the homes of each of the affected families. We are aiming to finish all the home visits by the end of this week,” the minister said.

Records showed that till Sunday, more than 10,000 families from the list provided by the state health department were visited by officials from the SDMs’ offices.

On September 21, the Delhi government waived off the need to submit a surviving member certificate (SMC) to claim financial assistance in case of the death of a spouse due to Covid-19.

However, SMC is still needed in all other cases. In cases where the deceased was a single parent, the surviving children are entitled to the ex-gratia, which is to be equally distributed among all children.

Similarly if the deceased is unmarried or is a minor son/daughter, the father or mother of the deceased will get relief under the scheme subject to their name appearing in the SMC, the government said in a statement.