Financial assistance of Rs. 2 lakh each will be given to poor families (with annual income up to Rs. 1.80 lakh) who lost members due to COVID-19, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said.
Earlier, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government had announced financial compensation for families whose sole breadwinner died due to COVID-19.
The Delhi Chief Minister said that Rs 50,000 ex gratia will be given to the families that have had a death due to the viral infection.
"We may not be able to repair the loss of a loved one. But we can definitely help you out in this dark hour. Any family that has had a Covid death will get ex gratia of ₹50,000," Kejriwal had said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court had in June ruled that the Centre must pay compensation to the family of those who succumbed to COVID-19. However, the top court said the amount of compensation will be decided by the government. It had given the NDMA, or National Disaster Management Authority, six weeks to decide on the amount and frame the required guidelines.
"We direct NDMA to form guidelines for ex-gratia compensation for family members of persons who succumbed to Covid, as per minimum standards of relief," a two-member bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah said.
"What reasonable amount is to be provided is left to the wisdom of the authority," the judges added, suggesting that the amount could be fixed keeping in the mind funds and resources available.
