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Covid deaths: Uttar Pradesh government issues guidelines for compensation
Death certificate mentioning Covid as cause of fatality must to get compensation, according to Uttar Pradesh government guidelines
Days after chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced that ₹ 50,000 compensation would be given to the families of each person who died due to Covid, the revenue department of the Uttar Pradesh government released detailed guidelines regarding the ex gratia to the next of kin for Covid deaths. As many as 22,898 people have died of Covid in the state.
“The list of Covid victims is updated till October 18,” read an order issued by Manoj Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary, on Saturday.
To avail the compensation for Covid deaths, it would be mandatory to get “death due to Covid-19” listed in the death certificate. A Covid death ascertaining committee (CDAC) comprising the additional district magistrate, chief medical officer, additional chief medical officer, principal or head of the department of medicine in medical college and a subject expert would be set up at the district level. This committee would ascertain the cause of death and testify the same.
All applications received at the office of the district magistrates would have to be uploaded on the relief commissioner’s website rahat.up.nic.in after which, on completion of all the necessary formalities, the ex gratia would be electronically transferred to the account of the kin of the Covid victim.
To avail ex gratia, an application in the prescribed format, along with death certificate stating Covid as the cause of death, would have to be made before the district magistrates who would be required to set up a cell to receive such applications.
In his detailed order, Singh also said that the state government is paying ₹30 lakh each to those employees on panchayat election duty who died of Covid.
“Additionally, ₹50 lakh each for the kin of those who died while being deployed on Covid-19 duty too has been sanctioned,” Singh’s order said while making it clear that the ₹ 50,000 ex gratia order won’t be applicable on them.
Earlier this week, Yogi Adityanath had said that the state government will soon issue guidelines for rolling out compensation and that each district will have a committee under the district magistrate to execute the scheme.
“Make sure that no potential beneficiary is left out,” Yogi Adityanath had directed the officers after the Supreme Court approved the Central government’s proposal of paying ₹50,000 to the next of kin of those who died due to Covid.
