Hyderabad: Congress asks govt to stop hiding Covid deaths, pay ex-gratia for all claims

Hyderabad: The Congress party on Monday demanded that the State government pay ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 to all families who lost their kin due to Covid, as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Minorities department chairman Sameer Waliullah reiterated the allegation that the government was hiding the actual Covid deaths so as to avoid paying compensation to the families of the victims.

Referring to the data filed by the government in the Supreme Court, he said the Covid compensation claims received by the State were almost seven times higher than the official count of death. "As against 3,993 deaths reported by the government, it received claims from 28,969 families. There is a huge gap of 24,976 victims. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao must seek an explanation from the Health department for this huge contradiction," he demanded in a statement.

Waliullah said of 28,969 claims, compensation has been paid to 12,148 families. This information was furnished by the government in the court and therefore, this cannot be denied. The government must furnish reasons for rejecting the claims of the remaining 16,821 families.