Mumbai: Covid ex gratia ‘paid’, but no money in bank – Times of India

MUMBAI: Borivli resident Chetna Mehta, who lost her husband to Covid-19 during the first wave, was relieved to see an update in January stating the ex gratia of Rs 50,000 was “credited” to her bank account. Having lost the main breadwinner, this amount meant a lot to the family. Almost a month since they saw the update on the portal developed for disbursal, the money is yet to reflect in her bank account.
Scores of people who applied for the ex gratia received updates saying the money had been transferred, but the sum did not reach their bank account. On Thursday, Chetna was among several applicants who had come to the BMC ward office in Parel to enquire what the discrepancy meant.

“We applied for the ex gratia in December and all the paperwork was fine. Sometime in January, we checked for an update, which said that the amount has been credited to the bank account. We thought it would come in a day or may be a week, but now it’s nearing a month,” said Chetna.
Her husband, a medicine wholesaler, succumbed to Covid in August 2020. She said that while the sons have taken up the responsibility of the household, her husband was the financial pillar.
Priyanka Nagwekar was equally baffled. Her 49-year-old husband, who was a frontliner and had actively worked in distributing ration to tribal areas in Palghar, died of Covid on April 2021. She had applied for the ex gratia on December 13. After waiting through January, she accessed the portal on February 8 through an internet cafe, where the status against her application was: “The amount has been credited to your bank account.”
“But when I checked my account, the money had not come,” she said. On Thursday, she stood in the queue along with nearly 100 others whose applications were rejected. “My husband was the only earning member. My son is young, and I am worried how we will sustain ourselves,” she said.
Dr Mangala Gomare, BMC executive health officer, said once a claim is approved it goes to the state disaster management department, which puts the sum directly into the beneficiary’s bank account.