Next of kin of frontline COVID-19 warriors to get Rs 50 lakh

GUWAHATI: The State government is going to pay Rs 50 lakh as ex gratia to the next of kin of frontline COVID-19 warriors in the event of their death on duty.

The State government has allocated Rs 25 crore from the SDRF (State Disaster Response Fund) initially. A notification to this effect was issued by the State Revenue and Disaster Management department on Thursday.

The target beneficiaries are the next of kin of doctors, paramedical staff, other employees of the Health department on duty, employees on duty of private hospitals that have signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the State Health department under PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) and Atal Amrit Abhiyan during the outbreak of corona. Policemen and other government staff on duty, employees of societies/PSUs serving under the State government, journalists on duty, home guards on duty, casual employees of the State government and various societies on duty are also covered by this scheme.

COVID-19 has been declared as a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020 and subsequently the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India notified to treat the virus disease 'COVID-19' as a natural disaster by way of modifying the list of items and norms of assistance for the purpose of providing assistance under SDRF.

To fight the pandemic, not only the employees of Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education & Research Departments , but also the employees from other departments are working relentlessly. Therefore, the State Government, after careful consideration, has decided to put in place special provisions with regard to ex gratia permissible to the dependants / legal heirs of the employees who die while on Government duty during the fight against COVID-19.