47,228 or 14,733: How many people died of COVID in Andhra?

Amaravati: Centre has settled 47,228 COVID-19 ex-gratia claims and paid Rs 50,000 ex-gratia to each of the next of kin of the deceased. Officials said 50,399 COVID-19 ex-gratia claims were filed in Andhra Pradesh, of which 47,228 claims have been settled.

"Of the total 50,399 COVID-19 ex-gratia claims have been filed in Andhra Pradesh, 47,228 claims have been approved and paid Rs. 50,000 each. A total of 3171 claims have been rejected in Andhra Pradesh," Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told Lok Sabha on Friday. "The most common reasons for rejection of claims include duplicate applications, non-submission of all relevant documents like deaths summary", the minister added.

The minister said the main reason for the delay in disbursal of COVID-19 ex-gratia includes mismatch of Aadhar and bank details, delay in Centralised Funds Management System (CFMS) entry, and payment. Pawar was responding to the question of TDP MP K. Rammohan Naidu in the Lok Sabha. He had asked questions related to ex-gratia claims, the number of COVID deaths, ex-gratia rejected, and the delay of payment in Andhra Pradesh.

State Disaster Relief Fund said 47,228 people died of COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh. However, the Centre claimed that only 14,733 people have died. According to SDRF, the death toll is 220 percent more than the centre's numbers.

50% more deaths across the country

The official numbers in the CoWIN dashboard put the death toll at 5,26,258. But as per information received from various State Governments/UT Administration, a total of 7,91,353 claims have been settled. Ex-gratia relief payment from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has been released to the next of kin of the persons who died of COVID-19. These numbers are 2,65,095 higher than the official figures.