The Union government seems to be contradicting itself on the number of health workers, including doctors, who died while fighting COVID-19 in the past two-and-a-half years.
In the reply to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed with New India Assurance Company Limited, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on September 8 that ₹487 crore had been disbursed as insurance compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) scheme to 974 health workers who died in the line of duty fighting the pandemic as on September 1. Under the scheme, ₹50 lakh is given to each health worker. The query was filed by K.V. Babu, Kannur-based ophthalmologist and RTI activist.
While replying to a specific query on the break-up of the figures, the company said on September 9 that 206 of them were doctors and the compensation paid was ₹103 crore. The other 768 health workers, including nurses, community workers and other staff, were paid ₹384 crore.
