The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed a litigant to approach the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) with his plea for payment of gratuitous relief of ₹60 a day for every adult and ₹45 a day for every child from poor families whose livelihood was affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.
Justices Vineet Kothari and R. Suresh Kumar asked petitioner R. Dhanasekaran of the Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi to approach the SDMA first with his request and then come up before the court with a fresh affidavit if his plea was not considered. Petitioner’s counsel Kabilan Manoharan argued that such gratuitous relief was mandatory.
In an affidavit filed through his counsel on record R. Shankar and P. Raja, the petitioner stated that as per guidelines framed under Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act of 2005, it was mandatory to pay an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh to family members of persons who die due to a national disaster and gratuitous relief to other victims.
According to a communication issued by the Union Home Ministry on April 8, 2015, the gratuitous relief had been computed to be ₹60 a day for adults and ₹45 a day for children. If such an amount was paid to every person who had lost his livelihood due to the lockdown, spanning for over two months, it would be sufficient to revive the economy, he said.
Opposing the plea, State government pleader V. Jayaprakash Narayanan told the court that the State government had already paid monetary relief to ration cardholders, besides providing free dry rations. He also said that cooked food was being provided, free, at all Amma canteens in the State.
