Rs 1 crore ex gratia to kin of 17 Covid warriors: Delhi CM Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Delhi Government will give an ex gratia compensation of Rs 1 crore each to the families of 17 employees who lost their lives during the COVID-19 duty.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday approved an ex gratia amount of Rs 1 crore each to the families of 17 employees who died in the line of COVID-19 duty. 

“The Delhi government salutes such workers who have served relentlessly the citizens of Delhi. There is no compensation for anyone’s life, but I am hopeful that this financial assistance will provide some ease to their families,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying in an official statement. 

The approval of the chief minister came after a meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) decided on granting ex gratia of Rs 1 crore each to the families of those ‘corona warriors’ who passed away, it said. 

Doctors and paramedical staff working in government-run health facilities in treating patients or involved in the treatment of Covid patients would be considered as working on Covid duty, the statement said.

Such doctors and paramedical staff would, therefore, be entitled to the benefit under the scheme.

Likewise, doctors and paramedical staff working in non-government health hospitals which were designated by the government as Covid hospitals or facilities, or whose beds were officially requisitioned or reserved by the government for managing Covid, would also be considered as a Covid duty, the statement said.

Chief Minister Kejriwal has approved the Rs 1 crore honorarium each to families of 17 Covid warriors who lost their lives while serving the citizens during the pandemic, and these include doctors, paramedical staff, other healthcare and frontline workers, it added.