3 days Ago
KALPETTA: The Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) explained that notices were issued to the victims of Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslide victims in Wayanad to pay their unpaid arrears, by mistake. Two victims of the disaster received notices yesterday demanding immediate repayment of their loans. Soujath and Minnath, natives of Chooralmala, received notices from KSFE demanding immediate payment of their unpaid installments.
KSFE's explanation came when they reached the Muslim Youth League branch office to protest after the notice. Meppadi branch manager Thomas clarified that the notices were sent to the two due to a computer glitch. There was a glitch in the incident.
The notices should not have been sent. This has never happened before. He said that a sympathetic approach has been taken towards the disaster victims so far.
Meantime, the high court has heavily criticized the central government for its inappropriate behavior in relation to the Wayanad disaster. The Centre has come under severe criticism for asking for money for past rescue operations, including for relief projects in Wayanad, where the landslide disaster occurred, when the relief works had not reached anywhere. A division bench comprising Justice Dr A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice S Easwaran orally asked is this the time to ask for the old accounts.
A bill of Rs 132.61 crore was given to the state for the use of helicopters for the rescue mission. Rs 13 crore was spent on Wayanad.
The remaining amount is the arrears from 2006 to May 2021. The court directed the Centre to respond, including on providing relaxations in the disaster management rules to spend money on relief projects..
