Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved the appointment of 40 more Loss Assessors to assist the North-East Delhi Riots Claims Commission (NEDRCC) and issued directions to clear all 2,575 pending cases within three months.
Till now only 14 of the 25 assessors hired were assisting the NEDRCC, which has so far settled just seven per cent (200) of the total 2,775 claims filed by victims of the February 2020 riots.
According to sources in Raj Niwas, with the L-G’s approval of the appointment of 40 ‘Loss Assessors’, their number goes up to 54. "Earlier, 25 loss assessors were appointed but only 14 were conducting surveys without any deadline, resulting in delays," sources said.
"Apart from the 54 assessors, 10 additional loss assessors have been approved for a reserve list so that they could be engaged to assist the Claims Commissioner if any of the 40 does not report for duty," he said. Sources alleged that even after more than 1.5 years the Commission has been able to process only seven per cent of the total claims. “The L-G has expressed displeasure at this laxity resulting in suffering to victims who had sustained losses in the 2020 riots.
Saxena has also directed the existing 14 loss assessors to submit their reports on the claims within three weeks, failing which their services will be discontinued and they will be blacklisted from the panel of assessors,” officials said.
“The Home Ministry had been pursuing the issue of early assessment and submission of claims, with the Delhi Government, since there have been unreasonable delays till now.
Following a review meeting in April the MHA had directed the city Government to assess the damages holistically and submit the claims to the Claims Commissioner for deciding the compensation,” they added. The riots had engulfed most parts of northeast Delhi, claiming over 50 lives and resulting in injuries to hundreds, besides a massive loss to Government and private property during three days of violence, arson and looting.
The NEDRCC was set up by a notification in April 2020. It started working from November 2020 to evaluate losses and make recommendations to the Delhi High Court which examines them before final payment of the compensation.
The Delhi Government had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for major damage to residential units, Rs 2.5 lakh for substantial damage, Rs 25,000 for minor damage, Rs 50,000 for e-rickshaws and Rs 5,000 for cattle. A maximum compensation of Rs 5 lakh was announced for uninsured commercial units.
The compensation for death of an adult was fixed at Rs 10 lakh, infant Rs 5 lakh, permanent incapacitation Rs 5 lakh, serious injuries Rs 2 lakh, and Rs 20,000 for minor injuries.