The Gujarat government through a affidavit filed in Supreme Court informed the bench that it had so far sanctioned the compensation of ₹ 50,000 each to 68,370 claims filed by the family members of patients who died due to coronavirus infection in the state. As per the state health department official updates, the death count due to coronavirus in Gujarat stood at 10,174 as of January 18.
The Gujarat government had clarified the discrepancy in the coronavirus death count by saying that the number of fatalities went up after the apex court amended the definition of deaths due to coronavirus last year.
The Gujarat government has prepared a compliance report dated January 16, 2022, on the pleas (of various states) being heard by the SC on the payment of the compensatory assistance to the family members of those who had succumbed to the virus, as reported by PTI.
In that report, the state government had said that it received 89,633 claim forms (applications) seeking compensation for deaths, out of which 58,840 claims have been settled and the amount has been disbursed to applicants.
The state revenue department said that a total of 68,370 claims have been “sanctioned” (58,840 settled) by the Gujarat government around that date. 4,234 claims were rejected while other claims are pending.
A senior official of the state revenue department, which had filed the affidavit in the Supreme Court on January 14, confirmed the figures while talking to PTI on Tuesday and said that they continue to rise.
“The receiving and settling of claims is a continuous process. There has been progress in the since January 14,”P Swaroop, ex-officio secretary, Revenue Department, told PTI.
On the discrepancy in the number of Covid-19 deaths in Gujarat, state Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi had told reporters on December 15 that the death count had risen after the Supreme Court made changes in the definition of Covid-19 deaths by including all those who died within 30 days of testing positive as cases of Covid-19 deaths.
