A Statutory Duty

While observing that the centre could not stay away from paying the amount to the kin of Covid-19 patients who died, the Court asked NDMA to frame guidelines in this regard while abstaining from specifying the compensation

- Abhinav Verma

THE Supreme Court on June 30, 2021 directed the Na tional Disaster Manage ment Authority (NDMA) to lay down guidelines for the mini mum standard of relief, including payment of ex-gratia assistance to family members of people who succumbed to Covid-19.

The top court in its judgment said: “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. The reasonable amount to be provided is left to the wisdom of national authority.”

The apex court, therefore, made it abundantly clear that as far as the Covid-19 pandemic was concerned, it was a disaster under the Disaster Manage ment Act (DMA).

The Court also asked NDMA to provide ex-gratia compensation to families of Covid-19 victims. Its response came after a batch of petitions sought directions to the state and central governments to provide ex-gratia compensation.

The pandemic over the past year has ravaged Indian households. According to the recent estimate by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, incomes of 97 percent households in the country has been adversely impacted by the pandemic. Since the pandemic began, un employment numbers have shot up to an unprecedented high and the scale of devastation unleashed by the second wave of the pandemic has been indeterminable and fears of a third wave are only rising as the coronavirus continuous to mutate.

In March 2020, Union home minister had declared Covid-19 as a disaster and notified it under the DMA. Section 12 of DMA mandates ex-gratia assistance on account of the loss of life, damage to houses and for restoring means of livelihood.