THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A cabinet sub-committee, comprising ministers EP Jayarajan, E Chandrasekharan, K Krishnankutty, AK Saseendran and Kadannappally Ramachandran, has been constituted to ensure speedy disbursal of compensation and to assess losses to commercial establishments.
Banks in the public and cooperative sectors have been asked to waive the minimum balance clause in beneficiaries’ accounts to which the compensation will be transferred.
A detailed memorandum will be submitted to the Union Government for assistance after a detailed assessment of the losses. A committee of senior officials comprising Chief Secretary Tom Jose, Additional Chief Secretaries Vishwas Mehta, Devendra Kumar Singh and Manoj Joshi and Principal Secretary V Venu will be tasked with preparing the memorandum.
In the relief package for flood victims, Rs 4 lakh will be compensation for disaster-related deaths and Rs 10,000 as immediate assistance for the affected families. Families which have lost their house and land in the natural calamity will be given Rs 10 lakh. For houses totally damaged in flood and landslide, Rs 4 lakh will be provided. Families in disaster-hit areas, including fishermen, will be given 15 kg of rice free of cost. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.
To prevent ineligible people from claiming compensation, the village officer and secretary of the local body concerned will closely scrutinise the list of beneficiaries. Agricultural losses will also be compensated as per existing disaster relief norms, the Chief Minister said.