New Delhi: The Union government has refused to release information on the number of families of doctors who died from Covid-19 during the first and second waves who have been compensated so far, saying it does not have enough data.
In an RTI (Right to Information) response, reported by The New Indian Express, the health ministry said that “data is not available in material form” on the compensation received by families. The RTI was filed on December 7 by RTI activist KV Babu seeking information on the total number of beneficiaries who have received compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) since its launch on March 30, 2020.
In an earlier RTI filed by him in November 2023, the ministry had revealed that 475, or 29% of the families, had been compensated.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had submitted its report to the health ministry on the number of doctors who died due to Covid-19 in the first two waves. According to the organisation, which has over 4 lakh members, 1,600 doctors had died fighting Covid-19 between 2020 and 2022.
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However, this is not the first time the ministry has refused to reveal data. In 2022, when the health ministry was asked in the Rajya Sabha how many healthcare workers had died in the pandemic, they said they have “no data”, despite the numbers provided by the IMA.
In a written reply, later, the minister of state for health and family welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar had said “disaggregated data on deaths due to Covid-19 by profession or otherwise is not maintained centrally.”
In 2020, when the first wave of Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak, the government had promised Rs 50 lakh to the family of every health worker who died fighting Covid. To date, there is no clarity on how many families have received the compensation.
