Chaini Parwani –
Published On: December 14, 2021 at 13:00 IST
The Gujarat Government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it received 22,557 applications for Covid-19 ex-gratia Compensation and sanctioned payment in 16,175 cases, far higher than the official virus Death tally in the State that stood at 10,099.
The development came into light when in a Hearing on October 4, the Supreme Court Judges directed Gujarat and Maharashtra to expedite the process of paying Compensation and that the money be given to the beneficiaries after due publicity.
The Commissioner of Relief, Gujarat submitted an Affidavit stating “Till date, 22,557 applications have been received for payment of ex-gratia compensation, out of which sanction order has been passed for 16,175 cases. Out of the 16,175 cases which have been sanctioned, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has been done for 14,215 cases.”
The one-time Compensation is being sanctioned according to the Supreme Court’s orders on June 30 and October 4, which detailed norms for Disbursal of Compensation.
The Supreme Court Guidelines stated that Deaths occurring within 30 days from the date of being tested will be treated as Covid-19 Deaths, as will those cases where the patient was admitted for more than 30 days in hospital and Died subsequently.
A Bench comprising of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna stated “The common man is waiting and struggling to get ₹50,000. How will you inform them? We find that all the publicity is only on paper. Advertisements have to be issued in all newspapers giving the address of the online portal. The same has to be also shown on local channels, Doordarshan, and local newspapers.”
As of Monday, Gujarat’s official Covid-19 Deaths toll was 10,099.
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