Delhi LG approves 40 more assessors for Delhi riots claims commission

New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) In order to expedite the settlement of claims of the victims of 2020 North-East Delhi riots, Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena on Wednesday approved the appointment of 40 'loss assessors' to assist the North-East Delhi Riots Claims Commission (NEDRCC), taking the total number assessors to 54.

Ten additional loss assessors have also been approved for a reserve list so that they could be engaged to assist the claims commissioner in case of non-reporting by the 40 loss assessors.

According to a source in the LG office, Saxena has directed that all pending claims should be settled within the next three months.

However, even after over two years since the riots, the commission has been able to process only 200 out of the 2,775 claims submitted till date, which is just 7 per cent of the total claims.

While 25 assessors were appointed earlier, only 14 had been conducting surveys without any deadline, resulting in the delay.

As per the procedure, after assessment of damages, the assessors submit their reports to the claims commissioner for his recommendations to be sent to the Delhi High Court.

The source said that Saxena has expressed displeasure at this laxity resulting in suffering of victims. He has also directed the existing 14 loss assessors to submit their reports within three weeks, failing which their services will be discontinued and they will be blacklisted from the panel of assessors.

The North-East riots witnessed multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction and rioting beginning February 23, 2020. The NEDRCC was set up in April 2020 and it started functioning in November 2020.

After a meeting held in April this year to review the progress of claims settlement, the Union Home Ministry had directed the GNCTD to assess the damages holistically and submit the claims to the claims commissioner for deciding the compensation at the earliest, the source said.