Claim of govt providing compensation of ₹4 lakh to families of Covid deceased is FAKE: PIB

June 15: A post has become viral in social media, wherein it was claimed that the government will be providing a comensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who would die of Covid-19. Netizens are sharing this post multiple times in WhatsApp, Fecbook and Twitter. The post also contains an application form and letter from the Department of Disaster Management, claiming the kin of the person who lost his/her life from Coronavirus is entitled to get Rs 4 lakh as compensation.

A document is attached to the claim. “Fill the form of common people who died due to COVID-19 and submit it to the DM office. The state government will give them a grant of Rs 4 lakh from the National Disaster Fund. Inform the relatives and friends around you so that the family can get some help in this disaster (sic),” reads the English translation of the claim.”

Now, the question is, whether this claim is true or false?

Initially, in 2020, the government said that it will treat COVID-19 as a notified disaster to provide assistance under SDRF and pay an ex-gratia for all COVID deaths. The notification also issued announcing monetary assistance on hospitalization costs for COVID-19 cases. Within hours, the government withdrew the notification. The Central government is not providing Rs 4 Lakh compensation to families who lost kin to COVID-19. The claim is false. According to the revised notification, the monetary benefit would be eligible for measures for quarantine, sample collection, and screening. The clause on ex-gratia and cost of hospitalization of all COVID-positive patients was deleted.

Clarification w.r.t. to grant of ex-gratia payment to the families of deceased persons by the Ministry of Home Affairs. No Ex-gratia payment is allowed under SDRF guidelines for Covid deaths. Letters are shared herewith for the public information. pic.twitter.com/dYRPW5PXIF

— DIP Goa (@dip_goa) June 9, 2021

Clarifying this claim. Department of Information & Publicity, Goa governmentcon 9 June, 2021 tweeted: “Government has come to know that an application form to claim ex gratia relief of Rs. 4 lakhs on account of death due to Covid-19 under State Disaster Management Fund is circulating in the social media. The Form has an attached letter issued by the DM. Clarification w.r.t. to grant of ex-gratia payment to the families of deceased persons by the Ministry of Home Affairs. No Ex-gratia payment is allowed under SDRF guidelines for Covid deaths. Letters are shared herewith for the public information.”

Claim: Under a provision of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), families of those who died due to #COVID19 are entitled to a compensation of ₹ 4 Lakh.#PIBFactCheck: This claim is #Fake. No such provision exists under the approved items and norms of expenditure for #SDRF. pic.twitter.com/ztZ8yUJpPu

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 29, 2021

When this post started going viral on social media, on 29 May 2021, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) also denied it, saying that no such compensation is being given under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) in case of death due to Coronavirus disease. The PIB tweeted, “Claim: Under a provision of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), families of those who died due to #COVID19 are entitled to a compensation of ₹ 4 Lakh. #PIBFactCheck: This claim is #Fake. No such provision exists under the approved items and norms of expenditure for #SDRF.”

As such, it follows that the claim of ex gratia relief of Rs. 4 lakhs on account of death due to Covid-19 as circulated in social media platforms is FAKE.