New Delhi: In its answer to the Supreme Court about giving ex gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of COVID-19 victims, the central government on Monday came out prioritising the management for Covid, rather than compensating. 
 
The government, while denying the idea of ex-gratia compensation explained that amidst Covid-19 management, the finances of central and state government are under enough severe strain that further compensating Rs 4 lakh would be beyond the government’s fiscal affordability.  


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The statement comes as a reply to a petition the Supreme Court had sought Centre’s stand on. Providing Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who lost their loved ones to Covid-19 and a uniform policy for issuing death certificates to those succumbing to the virus was the two petitions the top court had sought the Centre’s response on, back in May. 
 
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared in front of the court said, “It is not that we do not have money… It is that our focus is rather on the expenditure of money for other things [like public health interventions, social protection, and economic recovery for the affected communities, etc]”. 
 
To this, senior advocate S.B. Upadhyay, who appeared for the petitioners in the court highlighted that in case the government has the money, they are obliged to comply with Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act to provide ex gratia assistance to Covid-19 victims, adding that it was the government itself who had declared Covid-19 a national disaster. 
 
Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, a petitioner, said, “The amount can be less small or big, but some help needs to be given to families, some of whom have lost their sole breadwinners. Families of frontline warriors who lost their lives in the line of duty cannot be left in a lurch”. 
 
After some further discussions, the court has reserved the petitions for judgment.