The government has announced a series of steps to provide relief to the hapless endosulfan victims of Kasaragod, including a loan-waiver scheme, expediting the payment of compensation recommended by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), inclusion of the victims in the BPL (below the poverty line) category and coverage for all those who have not figured in the earlier victims list.
All loans between ₹50,000 and ₹3 lakh will be written off and ₹7.63 crore will be sanctioned for this purpose. The government had earlier written off all loans up to ₹50,000. The government has also decided to allocate ₹30 crore for payment of compensation as per the recommendation of the NHRC for all eligible persons, including those who have been newly added to the existing list of victims.
The crucial decisions were taken at a high-level meeting convened on Tuesday by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. An official statement said the government was giving ₹5 lakh each to those who were fully invalid, mentally challenged and the dependants of the those who died and ₹3 lakh each for victims with other disabilities. The government had also sanctioned ₹3 lakh each for cancer patients among the victims.
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Another major decision taken at the high-level meeting was to bring all endosulfan victims under the BPL category to make them eligible for ration benefits.