Coronavirus Update: Rs 4 lakh relief for deceased missing from modified central notification

The Central government on Saturday revised its notification declaring coronavirus (COVID-19) as a disaster to remove mention of an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the deceased and the assistance for the cost of hospitalization for infected patients.

The first order had announced Rs 4 lakh for “deceased person” including those involved in relief operations or associated in response activities.

The modified order is silent on compensation and doesn’t mention the cost of hospitalization for COVID -19 patients as separate sub heads.

The first home ministry letter to the chief secretaries of all the states explicitly mentioned an ex-gratia relief of Rs 4 lakh for the family of the deceased and the cost of hospitalisation for COVID-19 patients among the four points.

“Rs 4.00 lakh per deceased person including those involved in relief operations or associated in response activities subject to certification regarding the cause of death from an appropriate authority,” the first point in the notification said regarding the compensation.

On the front of the cost of hospitalization, the second point in the notification said, “Cost of hospitalization for managing COVID-19 patient at rates fixed by the State Government.”

The revised notification doesn’t have the first two points. However, it was not clear if the assistance has been withdrawn.

Centre notified coronavirus as a “disaster” by way of a special one-time dispensation for the purpose of providing assistance under SDRF or State Disaster Response Fund on Friday and allowed State governments to use SDRF funds for the purpose of providing temporary accommodation, food, clothing and medical care to people sheltered in quarantine facilities, other than home quarantine, or for cluster containment operations.

It also confers the power to the State executive committee to decide the number of quarantine camps, their duration and the number of persons admitted to such camps but prescribes a period of 30 days.

“The period can be extended by the committee beyond the prescribed limit subject to the condition that expenditure on this account should not exceed 25 per cent of SDRF allocation for the year,” the notification said.

The notification says as per the provisions of the one-time dispensation classifying coronavirus as a disaster, the cost of consumables for sample collection, checking, screening and contact tracing can come from NHM (National Health Mission) funds.