Punjab Finance Department on Sunday notified detailed guidelines for the grant of Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia compensation to the dependant members or legal heirs of employees, who die in harness while on Government duty fighting against coronavirus pandemic.
The compensation is admissible only for the pandemic of Covid-19 and it would remain in force from April 1, 2020, to July 31, 2020, subject to review thereafter.
“The ex-gratia would be applicable to all categories of regular employees of the State Government, who die in harness due to Covid-19 disease contracted while performing official duties,” said the spokesperson adding that the ex-gratia would be admissible to all employees covered under old pension scheme and those recruited on and after January 1, 2004, and covered under the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
The ex-gratia shall be admissible only where the employee is involved directly in State’s fight to control spread of coronavirus — the employees on duty at Covid hospitals or critical care centres, drivers transporting citizens of the State from other states or Covid patients or suspects etc, ration distribution, curfew or lockdown implementation, among others.
Giving details about ex-gratia compensation, the spokesperson said that the Civil Surgeon of the concerned district, where the employee was on duty, would be the competent authority to certify, whether the employee was corona positive and death in such case is attributable to Covid-19 disease resulting from the coronavirus.
The Deputy Commissioner of the concerned district would be competent authority to certify whether the employee was on duty in the state’s battle against Covid-19 while coronavirus has been contracted by such employee.
The Deputy Commissioner, while issuing such certificate, can call upon the report from Head of Office to ascertain nature of duties entrusted upon such an employee and whether the coronavirus could have been acquired or contracted by the employee in the line of official duty.
The ex-gratia claim submitted by the office would be accompanied by both these certificates issued by the concerned Deputy Commissioners and Civil Surgeon only and cannot be delegated to any other official.
In all other cases, where the employee dies in harness and the death is natural, suicidal or homicidal not attributable to official duty or where the employee was not directly involved in state’s fight against coronavirus, the existing instructions of ex-gratia shall be applicable.
These instructions shall not be applicable to all such cases, which are covered and eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana-Insurance Scheme for workers fighting Covid-19.
Spokesperson, however, said that the cases of providing monetary relief to the dependants of manpower working on contract or through outsourcing, who die in harness due to the Covid-19 disease contracted while performing official duties would be considered under the provisions of the “Chief Minister’s Relief Fund”.