Major Delhi Policy Update: Families of Deceased Inmates to Get Up to Rs7.5 Lakh Financial Aid

Delhi government has introduced a compensation scheme of up to ₹7.5 lakh for families of prisoners who die due to unnatural causes and approved up to a 100% remuneration hike for Delhi disaster management personnel.

The government of Delhi has taken two significant welfare decisions to improve accountability in Delhi's prisons and provide a boost to its disaster management workforce. These recent decisions include a compensation scheme for the family members of prisoners dying of unnatural causes in Delhi jails and a hefty hike in the salaries of disaster management employees who have been working without any salary revision since more than ten years.

Financial Assistance for Family Members of Prisoners

Under this recently introduced scheme, financial assistance will be granted to the family members of those prisoners who die due to unnatural reasons in Delhi prisons.

As per the office of the Chief Minister, in case of death of a prisoner due to violence among prisoners or assault by the jail staff, a maximum compensation amounting to Rs 7.5 lakh will be granted to the family. However, in case the death of the prisoner was due to negligence or suicide, then the family members will get Rs 5 lakh as financial aid.

It must be noted that death due to natural reasons or sickness is not included in this compensation scheme.

Initiative Aims at Enhancing Transparency in Jails

According to the CMO of Delhi, the initiative has been taken to ensure transparency, accountability, and human dignity in jails. The government believes that it would help in strengthening the rule of law and making sure that those who require assistance receive financial assistance.

It would also ensure greater institutional responsibility in dealing with incidents in prison.

Increase of Up to 100 Percent in Remuneration for Disaster Management Employees

Another important decision which has been taken by the Delhi government is an increase in the remuneration of employees working for Delhi State Disaster Management Authority (DSDMA).

The new scale of remuneration includes Project Officers (POs), District Project Officers (DPOs), and Project Coordinators (PCs). Some employees would get remuneration increases of up to 100 percent.

Pay Structure Revised After 16 Years

According to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the move has come as a response to the longstanding demands of the disaster management staff who have been working since 2009 but no revision of their pay structure was done so far.

These posts were initially established with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Even after increased inflation and greater complexity in managing disasters during the last 16 years, their pay structure was still the same.

The government says that the new pay structure takes into account the vital contribution of the staff towards making Delhi a well-prepared city against disasters.