Editor's Pick: No excuses on compensation

The Supreme Court has taken the National Disaster Management Authority to task for not recommending any compensation yet for the kin of those who died due to COVID-19. The apex court has now given the NDMA six weeks to announce the ex-gratia payment. The court, however, rejected the plea that the compensation should be ₹4 lakh per person, saying that the amount was for NDMA to decide. Under Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, there are guidelines for recommending compensation for those who lost their lives in a disaster. The court has now said that the compensation is a statutory obligation. The Centre had earlier argued that the COVID-19 pandemic was not a one-time disaster that could be compensated with money, but was a spread out one that needed a broader approach. The government also said that there was no precedent to paying compensation for a disease or disaster spread out over several months or years. The Supreme Court's observations yesterday essentially negate these arguments against any monetary compensation. However, the court rejecting the ₹4-lakh figure offers some relief to the government. With the total COVID-19 deaths almost at 4 lakh now, the high compensation would have put enormous pressure on the government which is already hard pressed on the economy. The balancing act that the government now has to play between announcing some form of monetary compensation and preventing the treasury running low, is what makes this story important. The Hindu's Editorials Small doses: On the second COVID-19 wave and the stimulus Desert home: On UAE as India’s cricket venue Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting was held in which city? 1. Nagoya 2. Matera 3. Guadalajara 4. Brazilia To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 01 JULY 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( No excuses on compensation [No excuses on compensation] The Supreme Court has taken the National Disaster Management Authority to task for [not recommending any compensation yet]( for the kin of those who died due to COVID-19. The apex court has now given the NDMA six weeks to announce the [ex-gratia payment](. The court, however, rejected the plea that the compensation should be ₹4 lakh per person, saying that the amount was for NDMA to decide. Under Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, there are guidelines for recommending compensation for those who lost their lives in a disaster. The court has now said that the compensation is a statutory obligation. The Centre had earlier argued that the [COVID-19]( was not a one-time disaster that could be compensated with money, but was a spread out one that needed a broader approach. The government also said that there was no precedent to paying compensation for a disease or disaster spread out over several months or years. The Supreme Court's observations yesterday essentially negate these arguments against any monetary compensation. However, the court rejecting the ₹4-lakh figure offers some relief to the government. With the total [COVID-19 deaths almost at 4 lakh now]( the high compensation would have put enormous pressure on the government which is already hard pressed on the economy. The balancing act that the government now has to play between announcing some form of monetary compensation and preventing the treasury running low, is what makes this story important. The Hindu's Editorials [Arrow][Small doses: On the second COVID-19 wave and the stimulus]( [Arrow][Desert home: On UAE as India’s cricket venue]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting was held in which city? 1. Nagoya 2. Matera 3. Guadalajara 4. Brazilia To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today's Best Reads [[How the Chinese Communist Party endures] How the Chinese Communist Party endures]( [[Chhattisgarh’s excess deaths at least 4.8 times COVID-19 toll] Chhattisgarh’s excess deaths at least 4.8 times COVID-19 toll]( [[Google removed over 59,000 content pieces in April on Indian users’ complaints] Google removed over 59,000 content pieces in April on Indian users’ complaints]( [[Drones, flying toys banned in J&K’s Rajouri district after attacks] Drones, flying toys banned in J&K’s Rajouri district after attacks]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](