New Delhi: The Central Government has responded to the petition filed in the Supreme Court regarding compensation to the families of those who lost their lives from Corona. The central government has said that the compensation of 4 lakh cannot be given to the families who lost their lives due to corona. Compensatory compensation under the Disaster Management Act is applicable only for natural calamities such as earthquakes, floods, etc. It would be unfair to give ex-gratia for one illness and deny it for another. The payment of compensation to all the corona victims is beyond the financial capacity of the states. The Supreme Court is hearing the petition in this regard. In the petition, the Center and the states have been requested to give an ex-gratia amount of four lakh rupees to the families of those who lost their lives due to infection under the Disaster Management Act 2005. The Supreme Court will hear the matter on Monday.
The Central Government, in its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, said that it would not be appropriate to implement compensation for natural calamities due to the spread and impact of Corona. It cannot be applied to the corona epidemic. The Center and the states are already under severe financial pressure due to reduction in tax revenue and increase in health expenditure. The use of resources to provide ex-gratia can affect pandemic action and health expenditure. Instead of doing good, it can cause harm. There have been more than 3,85,000 deaths due to the pandemic which is likely to increase further.
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The Center has said that the earlier judgments of the Supreme Court itself say that policy matters should be left to the executive and the court cannot decide on behalf of the executive. On death certificates for corona victims, the Center said that the deaths due to Kovid will be certified as Kovid deaths in the death certificates. Failure to certify Covid deaths will result in penal action against certifying doctors.
