The Chief Minister’s mass contact programme, scheduled to begin in the district on August 12, has been postponed until further notice. The reason cited is the difficulty in notifying the selected participants in time for the programme due to the upcoming holidays on August 9, 10, and 11.
The screening of all the complaints received from the district was completed on August 5 by a committee headed by Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had also participated in the meeting through video-conference. Following these, 400 complaints were selected for the programme.
But due to continuous holidays (August 6 was also a holiday), the officials said all participants could not be notified through post about the scheduled date and time of their meeting with the Chief Minister.
Those who are yet to submit complaints can do so on the day of the programme. These complaints will be taken up for screening at a later period. A total of 14,955 complaints were received. As many as 1,731 people were selected to receive financial assistance. The screening committee had recommended maximum possible financial assistance to 234 people. Among the applications received by District Medical Officer (DMO) for health benefits, 321 people would receive financial aid from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, a press release issued by the District Information Officer said.
The committee recommended Rs.50,000 for those suffering from severe health problems. Funds would be allotted to other applicants when supporting documents were submitted.
The committee is expected to complete the entire process and take decision on all complaints by August 31. Applicants will be intimated through post at the earliest, according to a press release issued here on Wednesday.
