A report by Karwan-e-Mohabbat, a people’s campaign, while analysing 146 cases of survivors of the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, has found that not only does the compensation recommended by the North East Delhi Riots Compensation Commission (NEDRCC) in 2020 is yet to be disbursed, the distribution of ex-gratia payments for property damage has seen “low fulfilment rates” and “systemic lapses in implementation” through the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) office.The report — The Absent State: Comprehensive State Denial Of Reparation & Recompense To The Survivors Of The 2020 Delhi Pogrom — was released on the fifth anniversary of the riots on Wednesday in New Delhi.It records that the levels of compensation fixed for the 2020 riots “are far below the levels extended by orders of the superior courts to the survivors of the Delhi 1984 pogrom”. In the case of 2020 riot survivors, even when NEDRCC and the Delhi High Court “have made and approved evaluations of loss, actual disbursement to the victim-survivors has not been made,” it noted.Also Read | Northeast Delhi riots: Five years on, where do the 700 cases lodged in its aftermath stand?The report recorded that among the 146 cases of victims analysed, 117 related to property harm/loss/damage were filed with the SDM office. Among the victims, ex-gratia payments were received by only 25 — 22% of the victims. Of the 117, 84 cases were related to residential units and only 11 victims received ex-gratia.“This indicates that 86% of the victims, whose homes were damaged, were left without any emergency financial assistance. The absence of immediate financial support hindered their ability to return to normalcy,” the report said.Also Read | 2020 Delhi riots case: Tell officers to remain present during arguments on charge, court tells DCPIt added that 29 cases related to physical injuries were also filed with the SDM office, and 13 victims received compensation. However, the report observed disparity in “treatment-based disbursement of funds”. “Victims treated at private hospitals reported receiving no compensation… The majority of injured victims received treatment at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, which may have been prioritised for relief distribution, leaving those seeking treatment elsewhere without government assistance.”Also Read | 2020 riots: Delhi HC allows cross-examination of constable who named man as accused 5 years after incidentAs per the report, many were denied compensation because the FIRs lodged into their complaints were deemed invalid by the SDM office. “In multiple instances, the police had filed omnibus FIRs, grouping multiple incidents under generic reports rather than registering individual complaints. This practice rendered many FIRs legally ineffective for compensation purposes. The issue was later challenged in the HC, which ruled on June 22, 2020, that victims should not be required to submit an FIR if the police failed to file them properly. Despite this, many victims were still denied claims.”Story continues below this adBefore the establishment of NEDRCC, the 146 survivors whose cases were analysed in the report, sought compensation from the SDM office. Later, 117 of them pursued their cases with NEDRCC. While these 117 survivors had sought compensation of Rs 73.94 lakh from the SDM office, only Rs 5.53 lakh was sanctioned.“This means that victims received just 7.49% of the amount they had sought, highlighting a significant disparity between the claims made and the relief sanctioned. The absence of an appeal system meant that those who were wrongly denied compensation, faced technical errors, or received incorrect amounts had no formal mechanism to challenge the decision…,” the report said.Also Read | 2020 riots larger conspiracy case: Being on WhatsApp group no indication of wrongdoing, Umar Khalid tells HCThe survivors were also hindered by a lack of clarity on eligibility criteria, documentation requirements and the absence of standardised guidelines.Overall, 2,795 applications for claims — worth around Rs 150 crore — were received by NEDRCC in three phases. The NEDRCC only recommended compensation of about Rs 21 crore, which included victim compensation as well as expenses faced by the government for repairing damage to its properties.