BMC receives 5,000 petitions for compensation of Rs 50K from Covid and authorises 1,000 of them

The BMC has received 5,000 compensation claims from relatives of the Covid-19 victims seeking the state government's ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 (per household). The BMC has approved 1,000 of these petitions so far, which have been passed to the state government. Covid-19 killed more than 16,000 people in Mumbai. The victims' kin must send copies of the deceased person's and the applicant's Aadhaar cards, death certificates, RTPCR reports, and the applicant's bank details in order to collect the Rs 50,000 compensation. The documents are verified by a BMC scrutiny team, which then sends the accepted claims to the state Health Department.

In the first week of December, the state government launched a website called mahacovid19relief.in where relatives of Covid victims can request an ex-gratia payment. Applicants must connect with their mobile number and provide other information. "This promotes transparency and expedites the process, according to a senior Health Department official.

Suresh Kakani, an Additional Municipal Commissioner, explained that the goal of making everything available online was to guarantee that those who were qualified for assistance received it as quickly as possible and with as little paper as possible. If more than one family member has died of Covid, he noted, they must make separate applications. Officials from the Health Department stated that every effort is made to ensure that bereaved families are not overburdened with paperwork.

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