Chennai: The Tamilnadu government hasissued an order announcing an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 to the families of those who died of Covid in the State.
The amount will be paid from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), the Government Order (GO) issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department said.
The ex-gratia will be paid to the kin of persons who have died of Covid-19, including those involved in relief operations or associated in preparedness activities, subject to the cause of death being certified as Covid-19 as per guidelines jointly issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Indian Council of Medical Research on 3 September this year.
Expenditure on this item will be incurred from the SDRF fund only, in strict compliance with the National Disaster Management Authority guidelines issued on 11 September, the GO said.
‘This ex-gratia assistance will be applicable from the date of first Covid-19 case reported in the country and will continue till de-notification of Covid-19 as a disaster or till further orders’, it said.
However, those who have been given ex-gratia for Covid death under the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund–frontline workers (Rs 25 lakh), children who have lost both parents (Rs 5 lakh) and children who have lost one parent (Rs 3 lakh), will be excluded from this, the GO said.
The District Collectors should utlise the provisions available to provide immediate relief to the victims of Covid-19.