Delhi approves 3,700 applications to aid families who lost member to Covid

The Delhi government received around 10,000 financial aid applications by the families which lost their loved ones to coronavirus, and has so far approved 3,700 of them, while nearly 6,300 are pending, according to an official statement.

Of the 3,708 applications approved under the Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Parivaar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana, 1,257 families will receive the aid under the Monthly Financial Assistance Scheme and 2,451 under the one-time ex gratia payment scheme.

"About 6,291 applications are pending under both the schemes which are under examination at various levels," the statement added.

Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said the authorities concerned have been directed to provide immediate financial assistance to the beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Parivaar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana.

"As directed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the application process under the scheme is being made hassle-free so that the affected families do not have to go around the office," he said.

The minister said the officials conducting the on-the-spot inspection of the houses have been directed to help families whose applications are falling short of required documents.

Kejriwal had launched the Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Parivaar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana to provide financial assistance to the families who lost their loved ones due to COVID-19.

Under the scheme run by the Department of Social Welfare, the Monthly Financial Assistance Scheme and the Lump Sum Ex Gratia Payment Scheme are being extended to the affected families after the submit an online application.

The scheme has a provision for ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to families that have lost loved ones to COVID-19. It also provides for a pension of Rs 2,500 per month if the deceased was the family''s sole breadwinner.

So far, 9,999 applications have been received under both schemes, the statement said, adding out of these, 3,708 applications have been sanctioned for grant of the assistance under the scheme after scrutiny.

A total of 3,763 applications have been received for monthly financial assistance under the scheme and out of these 1,257 have been sanctioned after scrutiny, while 195 applications have been rejected due to objections and other reasons, the statement said.

On the other hand, 2,311 applications are pending due to verification, objections by citizens, and non-receipt of response from citizens and are still under investigation, it said.

A total of 6,236 applications have been received under the Lump Sum Ex Gratia Payment Scheme. Out of this, 2,451 applications have been sanctioned and 1,416 of the already paid the one-time ex gratia, the statement said.

Out of the total 6,236 applications, 3,785 have not yet received departmental clearance.

"These pending applications are under examination. The names of many of these applicants are not appearing in the MHA list, while some applications have not yet been sanctioned due to delays in the submission of documents including the death certificate," it said.