Kejriwal told: Increase death compensation to Rs 25 lakh, rehabilitate internally displaced

By Our Representative
Several concerned citizens have urged Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to urgently amend the compensation package announced for the riot victims, regretting that compensation amount of Rs'10 lakh announced by the Delhi government for the next of kin of those who died in the violence is grossly insufficient.
In a letter to Kejriwal, senior activists and academics Farah Naqvi, Anjali Bhardwaj, Annie Raja, Harsh Mander, Apoorvanand, Anirban Bhattacharya, and Amrita Johri have said, "Seven years ago after the Muzaffarnagar violence of 2013, Rs 13 lakhs compensation for death was given by the Uttar Pradesh government for survivors in a rural economy."
Considering the "adjustment for inflation between 2013 and 2020, and costs of living in a metropolis like Delhi", the letter states, "The compensation must be increased to Rs 25 lakh."
Insisting that "all loss of life is terrible, and must always be compensated for uniformly", the letter urges the Delhi government to remove the difference in compensation for death of a minor and major."

Asking for sexual violence to be included in the categories for compensation, the -- claimed to be based on ground assessment, also urges the Delhi government to respond to real needs of survivors, including workers rendered jobless, tenants evicted overnight, those whose insurance policies did not cover cars, bikes, and other goods destroyed by the 'riot'."
Seeking "market value-based compensation of animals and other means of livelihood that were burnt or looted", the letter says, there is a need for the Delhi Government "to recognize, through a fresh order, the right to full rehabilitation in new locations, of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who may never be able to return home."
Appreciating the government order on compensation, the letter says, "recognizing floor-wise units for compensation of destroyed residential property is a welcome step towards developing compensation norms", though adding, the order must "specify the floor area for which these rates have been determined, and allow for flexibility and additional compensation, as warranted, based on actual assessment of destroyed properties.”
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Click here for the letter

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