new Delhi. The central government has sent teams to Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to investigate five percent of claims filed for COVID-19 ex-gratia. “This is in pursuance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court order dated 24 March 2022 vide Writ (Civil) No. 539 of 2021 vide Miscellaneous Application No. 1805 of 2021,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
The three-member team for Maharashtra will be led by Sunil Gupta, Principal Advisor, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). In Kerala, it will be headed by P Ravindran, Adviser to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In Calicut, Gujarat, the team will be led by Dr. S. Venkatesh, Principal Adviser, NCDC, while in Andhra Pradesh the team will be led by SK. Singh, Director, NCDC.
The teams will examine the on-field implementation of the ex-gratia being paid as per the directions of the Supreme Court and the guidelines issued by the NDMA.
The teams will also conduct random scrutiny of applications for 5 per cent of the claims filed for payment of ex-gratia amount and also ascertain the procedure to be followed for payment of the same. It will check the details of approved or rejected cases, including its documents or verifications done by the district authorities.
The ministry said making a false claim or submitting a false certificate to avail the ex-gratia amount is liable to penalty under section 52 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
—AnyTV News
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