E-Paper
Supreme Court raps states for delay in forming Covid aid portals
Maharashtra, with an official death toll of about 140,000, is in the process of developing a web-based application to disbursing the ex-gratia relief.
Two months since ex gratia payments were made mandatory for the families of those who died due to Covid-19, several states are yet to set up portals to receive applications, while some are still finding out who constitute the “next of kin” to whom the ₹50,000 compensation can be given, according to a status report submitted to the Supreme Court.
Maharashtra, with an official death toll of about 140,000, is in the process of developing a web-based application to disbursing the ex-gratia relief. Kerala, the state with the second highest death toll of over 38,000 has a portal to receive claims but has not started the disbursal because it can’t ascertain who to give the amount to.
Meanwhile, nearly a dozen states have not supplied any information on the claims received and the compensation paid. This information was part of the status report compiled by the ministry of home affairs (MHA), the nodal ministry for the national disaster management authority (NDMA), submitted to the Court on Saturday.
Taking up the report in a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal – which led to the October 4 order making ex-gratia payments mandatory – a bench of justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said: “From the aforesaid it can be presumed either no wide publicity has been given by the concerned states or UTs with regard to the compensation offered for death of a person who had died due to Covid-19 or the concerned claimant is not made aware where to apply.”
The bench listed states which have reported low claims, those yet to share information, and sought details on eight counts – compliance of October 4 order; procedure adopted to invite applications for ex-gratia relief; deaths recorded; claims received; compensation given; setting up of a compliance framework; details of online portals; publicity given to the scheme; and details of where the compensation can be collected.
The court asked for information to be with Centre, and filed by chief secretaries of the states in an affidavit before the top court on December 6, the next date of hearing.
The numbers from several states suggested there was a huge lag in claims and payments.
According to the report, in Madhya Pradesh, out of the over 10,00 recorded deaths, only 937 claims were received. In West Bengal, this number is just 124 for over 19,000 deaths. Karnataka, which reported 38,182 deaths, received 14,237 claims, of which 3,900 were processed.
The bench noted that some states, such as Tamil Nadu, had a high death toll but did not provide information on disbursal. According to the status report, Telangana, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh were among the regions who did not provide disbursement information.
Delhi, which witnessed 31,017 deaths, received 25,358 claims of which 19,926 have been processed, according to the data submitted.
The bench said that there was no uniformity in the practices adopted by states and UTs in implementing its order. “Appropriate orders can be passed after hearing the states so that procedure for providing compensation shall be followed uniformly pan-India,” it said. The bench also expressed concern over how children orphaned due to Covid-19 can receive compensation. Solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta informed the court that this issue was pending before another bench of the top court in a suo motu proceeding. Incidentally, that case too was listed on Monday, with the court directing states to ensure the education of children who lost one or both parents due to Covid-19 did not suffer due to financial stress.
The Centre filed an affidavit informing the court that, till November 23, the PM CARES scheme received 5,335 applications for financial relief to children orphaned due to Covid and 2,705 these have been approved by concerned district magistrates, and 1,503 postal accounts have been opened for the transfer of funds.
The PM CARES for Children scheme promises health insurance and educational facilities to children who lost both or a single parent due to Covid-19. The benefits include cost of education, uniform, books, and health insurance cover under Ayushman Bharat till the age of 18 years. On turning 18, they will be entitled to a monthly stipend and a fund of ₹10 lakh per child when they are 23.
