THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the state government asks its employees to take part in the salary challenge in the wake of the floods, some employees who were affected by the disaster are at the receiving end. Reason: The government’s decision to provide a one-year moratorium on loan repayments has not been implemented so far. When some employees approached the banks, the officials said they haven’t received any official directive from the government. In the fallout, many have even received loan recovery notices.
The government had recommended a one-year moratorium on repayment of normal loans and six months for education loans after the deluge. A State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) had approved the decision. As per the decision, the moratorium period was to be valid from July 31. For those who had taken agriculture loans, a five-year extension was given and loan recovery proceedings had been suspended for three months.
As per Section 13 of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, the loan repayment moratorium should be granted to the people who live in the affected places. Santosh (name changed), a Thrissur native and an employee of the Fire and Rescue Services Department, is one of those feeling the pinch.
“My house was built with the House Building Advance scheme loan of `15 lakh taken from SBI. But my house was damaged in the floods. We pinned our hopes on the government’s promise in waiving off the loans for one year apart from the compensation of Rs 10,000. However, I received a loan recovery notice a few days ago,” he said.
“When I approached the SBI Chalakudy branch, the officials were unaware of any such moratorium. My family is at the receiving end. I am paying Rs 20,000 as the housing loan EMI even though I am contributing for the salary challenge too. Hope the government will act fast. Otherwise, my life will be in severe crisis,” he added.
However, an SBI spokesman said all bank branches have been instructed to implement the moratorium decision.Just like Santosh, many flood-hit employees are struggling to make both ends meet. “We have no issues in taking part in the salary challenge. But the government should keep its promise. We have many financial liabilities,” said a Revenue Department employee.
Meanwhile, M V Jayarajan, private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said that the government has done everything for granting the moratorium.“The SLBC has taken a decision to grant moratorium after the recommendation made by the cabinet. All state-owned cooperative banks have started implementing it. Other banks should also instruct their branches to implement it. If any bank branches don’t comply with it, then it is a serious concern. Chief Secretary Tom Jose had even sent a letter to the principal secretary of the National Disaster Management Agency on September 18. The government also informed the agency to prioritise the issue of the moratorium in the next meeting,” he said.