Centre backtracking on Cov compensation, claims Cong

Ranchi:

Jharkhand

Congress on Wednesday accused the

Centre

of doing a U-turn on giving compensation to those who died of Covid-19. Senior leaders of the state unit said that the party has also written a letter to chief minister Hemant Soren to provide Rs 1 lakh each to kin of the deceased from the state share and asking the Centre to grant the remaining Rs 3 lakh.

Addressing a joint press conference on Wednesday, state rural development minister Alamgir Alam, who is also the leader of legislative party, and Congress president Rajesh Thakur lashed out at the Centre for allegedly dilly-dallying on giving compensation.

Thakur said, “As per the disaster management act (DMA), whoever dies due to any notified disaster must get Rs 4 lakh compensation. As per the norms, 75% share is of the Centre and 25% is of the state. In that respect, the Centre must give Rs 3 lakh. For the rest 25% (Rs 1 lakh), we have written to the CM and he is sensitive of the issue.”

Criticising the Narendra Modi government, Alamgir added that whenever DMA is in force, the entire management of the disaster largely rests with the Centre. “However, it has been shifting goal posts as per its convenience. Last year, it promised to give Rs 4 lakh and now it took a U-turn,” he said.

While over 4 lakh people died in the country since the outbreak of the virus, around 5,000 died in Jharkhand so far. The state government has so far shifted the onus of giving compensation on the Centre. Thakur, however, said that the coalition government is exploring ways to offer some fiscal assistance to kin all those who lost their lives in the state.