Amend rules to give poll staff compensation: CM to UP SEC

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the state election commission should amend rules so that families of teachers and other employees who died after contracting Covid-19 during panchayat poll duty can receive compensation.

SEC is working to accommodate teachers who passed away days later, an SEC official said. EC rules only consider a death that took place ‘on duty’ — from the time a staff stepped out of home for duty and returned home — eligible for ex-gratia compensation. SEC may extend the duration after consulting doctors and experts, said the official who added that it would be an uphill task.

The CM's directive to the panchayati raj department to work with SEC to acknowledge deaths of several poll staff came a day after the government faced intense criticism of teachers unions and opposition parties over the basic education department's announcement that only 3 teachers who died during poll duty would receive compensation. According to unions, 1,621 died after contracting Covid-19 during poll duty.


“Election Commission guidelines were made before Covid-19. These guidelines need to be reviewed in a sympathetic way,” Adityanath said.

The official said the SEC compensation would remain Rs 30 lakh, coupled with whatever related department of the employee would give. The Allahabad high court had recently said during a hearing that the compensation should be Rs 1 crore per person. SEC had last year clubbed deaths due to Covid-19 in the category of death during polls for which the compensation was fixed at Rs 30 lakh, while Rs 15 lakh would be given for natural deaths of poll staff on duty.