LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday announced Rs 50,000 assistance to next of kin of those who died of Covid-19 since the onset of pandemic in March last year. This, government representatives told TOI, includes deaths at home and in hospitals.
The directive comes almost a year after Supreme Court asked the Centre to hammer out a compensation strategy for families of those who succumbed to the virus. Later, the apex court approved the Rs 50,000 ex-gratia package suggested by the Centre. As per official data until Sunday, 22,898 people in UP died of Covid since March 2020 with the highest toll in Lucknow at 2,651.
The state government’s directive followed a meeting of Team 9 chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who sought detailed guidelines for disbursement of aid. A district committee under the district magistrate in 75 districts will be constituted to check eligibility and dole out relief.
“The will be applicable for those who have died of Covid in Uttar Pradesh. The government is already giving compensation to next of kin of healthcare workers, but Sunday’s decision is overarching,” additional chief secretary, information Navneet Sehgal told TOI.
“Aid will be given per casualty, even if there are more than one death in a family, which needs to provide proof of deceased having been infected with Covid. This can include an RT-PCR report or any other record of Covid contraction,” Sehgal added.
“The budget has been allocated, further guidelines will be drawn up and committees under different district administrations will be formed to take up the cases,” he said. As per apex court directive, funds should be released in 30 days through State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF).
