Indian Court orders compensation payment for Covid death

NEW DELHI (REUTERS) Oct 52021 -  India’s top court ordered state authorities to pay $672 (50,000 rupees) as compensation for each death caused by Covid-19, as a way to help families cope with the loss, according to its order reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.   

 India has recorded 449,260 deaths overall, a tally experts say is a massive undercount, as millions more may have died in the vast hinterlands. In major cities including the capital New Delhi, experts said a large number of deaths were unreported as hospitals ran out of beds and oxygen supplies.   

 Petitioners had appealed to the Supreme Court to provide at least eight times the compensation, or 400,000 rupees, under the National Disaster Management Authority, through which the government provides some financial help in natural disasters such as earthquakes.   

 The government, in its affidavit, which was approved by the top court, agreed to the minimum payable amount to be disbursed by local authorities under the State Disaster Response Fund.