Amaravati, Jun 14 (IANS): The principal secretary of Andhra Pradesh's health and family welfare department, Anil Kumar Singhal, on Monday issued an order sanctioning an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to all the regularly employed doctors in the event they succumb to Coronavirus while discharging Covid duties.

"The government after careful examination hereby accords permission to the district collectors in the state for the sanction of an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to the immediate dependents of the deceased regular employees who were drafted to Covid duties and were exposed to Covid," said Singhal.

The government adjudged an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the doctors, Rs 20 lakh for the staff nurses, and Rs 10 lakh for male and female nurse orders (MNO/FNO) and other staff.

Set to benefit the dependents of the employees, this ex-gratia will be in addition to the benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package insurance scheme.

"The dependents receiving any benefit under any other scheme are also eligible for the ex-gratia," he said.

However, the deceased employee should have succumbed to Covid while discharging Covid duties inside a Covid hospital, Covid Care Centre or while visiting the home of an infected person.

Likewise, a Covid positive certificate and death certificate stating that the death was due to Covid are mandatory.

According to Singhal, dependents of the employees awaiting declaration of their probation are also eligible for the ex-gratia.

"This ex-gratia is in addition to any other benefit from insurance companies, organisations and institutions and other statutory payments by the Central/state government," Singhal noted.

Respective district collectors have been entrusted with the responsibility of verifying the relevant documents before sanctioning the ex-gratia.

In less than a week after Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas assured the state's junior doctors of meeting their demands, Singhal issued the order on ex-gratia.

However, there is no clarity if Kandikatla Rosy, a house surgeon at Eluru's Ashram Hospital who succumbed to Covid while discharging Covid duties, emerged as the first beneficiary of this benefit, as was demanded by the junior doctors.