Relief for the families of the 4,120 persons missing in Uttarakhand flash flood during June 14-20, 2013. All the scheduled commercial banks of the country are advised to settle the claims related to family members of the missing persons on submission of two documents according to a late evening circular from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The family members of the missing persons can get the claims settled by submitting two documents – the death certificate issued by the designated officer under Ministry Home Affairs circular and a letter of indemnity. The Uttarakhand State government has issued a final list of 4,120 missing persons in the calamity which includes 92 foreign nationals. The settlement of claims in respect of missing persons would be governed by the provisions of Section 107,108 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 which deal with presumption of continuance and presumption of death respectively.
Banks are also advised to formulate a policy which would enable them to settle the claims of a missing person after considering the legal opinion and taking into account the facts and circumstances of each case.
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Banks apart, the insurance firms too claimed that the norms have been eased voluntarily to settle claims fast.
While Uttar Pradesh leads the number of victims with 1,150 missing, the other States in the run are Uttarakhand (852), Madhya Pradesh (542), Rajasthan (511), Delhi (216), Maharashtra (163) , Gujarat (129), Haryana (112), Nepal (92), Andhra Pradesh (86), Bihar (58), Jharkhand (40), West Bengal (36), Punjab (33) Chhattisgarh (29), Orissa (26), Tamil Nadu (14), Karnataka (14), Meghalaya (6), Chandigarh (4) Jammu and Kashmir (3), Kerala (2), Puducherry (1) and Assam (1).