False: Legal dependents are entitled to receive compensation of ₹4 lakh under the Disaster Management Act if death is due to COVID-19 in India.

By: Ishita Goel
July 13 2021

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To date, there is no provision for the COVID-19 deceased's dependents to receive ₹4 lakh in compensation. The relevant guidelines are yet to form.COVID-19 has spread at an alarming rate, infecting millions of people and disrupting the economy. The government is putting in place relief packages for citizens and compensating to assist them. On the other hand, with passed orders by the government, fake and misleading orders are also circulated on social media. Under the pretense of compensation paperwork, scams are being attempted. A post went viral that the government shall compensate legal dependents under the Disaster Management Act and the pandemic act to any person's dependents who died due to COVID-19. Further, it was said to fill the form and submit it to the authorized department mentioned on the form. Searching by the keywords, there was no order or form found claiming that government shall compensate. National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA), Government of India website also does not notify any circular or form for compensation. The Central Government has made it clear that no such provision is being granted to families of COVID-19 victims. In June 2021, the Centre filed an affidavit claiming that state governments cannot afford to pay this and arguing for a more significant approach that includes health measures. The Centre indicated in a 183-page statement that if ex gratia of ₹4 lakh is provided for each person who dies due to COVID-19, the whole State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) may be spent on one item alone. The overall expenditure may go up even further. Suppose that the SDRF money is used entirely on ex gratia for COVID-19 victims. In that event, the states may not have enough funding to organize the COVID-19 response, provide various critical medical and other supplies, or deal with other calamities such as cyclones and floods, according to the Centre's reply. On June 30, the Supreme Court ordered the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to recommend rules for ex gratia to family members of those who died during the COVID-19 outbreak within six weeks, saying it ''has failed to perform its statutory duty cast under Section 12." On the other hand, the court did not specify a monetary amount but did compel the government to provide adequate ex gratia compensation. ''It should be left to the wisdom of National Authority while considering the guidelines/recommendations of the Finance Commission in its XVth Finance Commission Report and the funds required for other reliefs/priorities,'' it said that on the determination of the ex gratia sum. The bench, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, allowed the authorities six weeks to prepare ex gratia rules. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.