Bhubaneswar: The Congress party has proposed to the state government to raise the ex gratia amount for family of COVID victims to meet the Centre’s condition to pay Rs 4 lakh compensation.
In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra said the present ex gratia of Rs 50,000 for the family of a person who dies of COVID is too meagre an amount.
He further said considering the loss of lives and financial burden one goes through due to the pandemic, the state government should fulfill its earlier commitment of paying Rs 4 lakh to family of each victim.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had made a commitment to pay Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to the family of every deceased in March, 2020. Later, the Centre reduced the amount to Rs 50,000 as the state did not agree to pay its share.
Mishra pointed out that as per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, 75% of Rs 4 lakh, which is Rs 3 lakh, will be paid by the Centre and the rest 25% (Rs 1 lakh) by the state.
If the state commits to pay its share, the Centre would be compelled to fulfill its commitment to the affected people, he added.
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