If a ‘frontline warrior’ or veteran fighter in the fight against Corona dies or is attacked, his family or he will receive financial compensation. The state government had issued such guidelines to deal with the epidemic. On Tuesday, state health secretary Narayanaswarup said in a guideline of the corporation that only one member of a family would get that compensation.
At the outset of the outbreak in 2020, the state announced that front-line fighters would be compensated Rs 10 lakh if killed in Kovid and Rs 1 lakh if attacked. A public interest litigation has been filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking compensation for the veterans of Kovid. The High Court wants to know the details of how many people have received compensation from the state government. The state was told by the court that compensation claims had been filed on behalf of the families of 160 of the veterans who died in Kovid and 30,693 of the victims. Acting Chief Justice of the High Court Rajesh Bindal expressed doubts about that information.
According to the state, out of the total applicants, 101 families of the deceased and 9190 victims have been compensated. Observations inside the administration show that many families have multiple front-runners. As it turns out, two or three members of the same family have applied for that compensation. For example, the husband of a family works in the police, the wife is a health worker. They both deal with their confidence as they choose to embark on their play activities. Both of them applied for Rs one lakh compensation. Administrative officials say that this will not happen as per the guidelines of the health department. This time any member of the family can claim the compensation.
