Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to Mamata Banerjee for increasing ex gratia to kin of those who died of COVID

By ANI | Published: November 29, 2021 05:06 AM2021-11-29T05:06:30+5:302021-11-29T05:15:02+5:30

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stating that if the West Bengal government pays 25% of the ex gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh to kin of those who died of COVID, the centre would also be forced to pay 75% of the amount.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to Mamata Banerjee for increasing ex gratia to kin of those who died of COVID | Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to Mamata Banerjee for increasing ex gratia to kin of those who died of COVID

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to Mamata Banerjee for increasing ex gratia to kin of those who died of COVID

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stating that if the West Bengal government pays 25% of the ex gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh to kin of those who died of COVID, the centre would also be forced to pay 75% of the amount.

Chowdhury also demanded revising the COVID-19 death register.

"The SDRF norms require 75 percent of 4 lakhs, which is Rs 3 lakhs to be paid by the Central Government and the remaining 25 percent, which is 1 lakh, to be the share of the State government. We demand that you commit to upholding the state government's share of the 4 lakhs ex gratia payment so that it pushes the Central government to fulfil its commitment to the affected citizens," he said in the letter.

"We also demand revising the COVID-19 death register with immediate effect," he added in the letter.

We demand a detailed survey to create an authentic COVID-19 death register so that all this excluded could rightfully access compensation.

The Central Government of India submitted a detailed affidavit in Supreme Court mentioning that it will pay only Rs.50,000 as ex gratia to the families of those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Under the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) the compensation amount is shared by the Centre and State in 75 percent-25 percent respectively.

Later the Central Government revised this notification and reduced the ex-gratia payment to Rs. 50,000, read the letter.

The SDRF norms require 75 percent of the 4 lakhs, which is 3 lakhs to be paid by the Central Government and the remaining 25 percent, which is 1 lakh by the State Government, as per the letter.

The meagre amount of Rs. 50,000 as ex-gratia compensation is insufficient. The central government has argued that giving 4 lakhs as compensation would leave the government with insufficient capital to deal with COVID19 itself," stated the letter.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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