• Sujal Pradhan, NET Correspondent, Sikkim 

In a bid to support the citizens who have lost their guardians and hopes to tackle the financial issues, the Sikkim Government is now paying an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50000/-, which will be paid to the family members of the deceased.

According to a notification No. 5/LR&DMD dated 26/11/2021, if a citizen succumbs due to COVID-19, then ‘next of kin’ will receive an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000/-.

In case of Covid-19 death in the family, the next of kin or any family member may kindly visit the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in the respective DC Office and receive the payment.

For receiving the same, the beneficiaries have to fill an application form with the prescribed format, after which they can submit their form to respective collectorate office.

Its worthy to note that on 2021, the Supreme Court has approved an ex-gratia amount of Rs 50,000 to kin of people who died of Covid-19. The apex court had also said that the amount should be disbursed within 30 days of submission of the application.