New Delhi: The number of COVID compensation claims received by some states far exceeds their official fatality count, according to data filed by states in the Supreme Court.
In Telangana and Gujarat, the claims are as high as almost seven and nine times, respectively. The gap between the official toll and compensation claims is the largest in Maharashtra in absolute numbers, reported The Times of India.
Due to the Supreme Court’s guidelines, the number of claims is generally expected to be higher than the official. The top court guidelines are seen as broader and more liberal in their definition. The guidelines mandate that all fatalities, including those by suicide, within 30 days of a person testing positive be treated as COVID deaths.
According to data in the apex court — which is monitoring its order implementation to ensure that compensation is paid to all affected families — the claims received so far in Gujarat is 89,633 contrary to the official toll of 10,094.
Gujarat has so far approved 68,370 claims and already compensation disbursement has been done to 58,840 families. The state rejected 4,234 applications.
In Telangana, around 29,000 claims have been received against the official figure of 3,993 deaths, among which 15,270 have got approval. The claims add up to 2.13 lakh compared to the official toll of 1.41 lakh in Maharashtra.
However, in a few states, the number of claim applications the government has received is lower than the official toll. Ignorance, especially in rural areas, about the compensation scheme could be the reason for the gap.
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