Former High Court judge B. Kemal Pasha has backed the Opposition demand for a judicial investigation to bring out the factors that led to the recent floods in the State and urged the government to set up tribunals for speedy settlement of claims by flood victims.
Addressing a Meet-the-Press programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here on Thursday, Mr. Pasha accused the government of trying to evade the responsibility to compensate the flood victims under the strict liability principle. The move to attribute the floods to natural causes alone is an attempt to deny compensation to the affected people, he alleged, adding that the opening of dams had contributed as much to the deluge as the abnormally heavy rainfall.
Justifying the demand to constitute tribunals, he said judicial intervention would ensure justice for the stricken people. He called on the government to set up four or five tribunals headed by serving district judges to settle the claims in six months’ time. “The tribunals should not end up becoming a platform to accommodate retired High Court judges,” he added.
Mr. Pasha appealed to the Centre to loosen its purse strings and come forward to help Kerala with more assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction programme. “The interim relief of ₹600 crore itself is a pittance. Kerala should have got at least ₹5,000 crore.”
Objecting the move to milk government employees for contributions to the CM’s Distress Relief Fund, he said many employees could not afford to part with one month’s salary as suggested by the Chief Minister. Contributions to the fund should be voluntary, not forced on employees, many of whom were themselves flood victims, he said.
Mr. Pasha also urged the government for action against looting of traders and extortion of money from the public, all in the name of flood relief.
He stressed the need for Kerala to phase out hydel power projects and turn to renewable energy for its power needs. All the new houses to be built under the proposed reconstruction programme should be equipped with rainwater harvesting systems and solar panels, he suggested.
He also backed the ban imposed by the government on construction of houses in hazard-prone areas.
