Rebuild Kerala:  Appeal cell to resolve grievances of house reconstruction

The Collector also asked the respective local bodies to not withhold the appeals submitted by beneficiaries.

KOCHI: An appeal cell will be formed in the Ernakulam District Collectorate to deal with the grievances in connection with the rebuilding of houses which were completely damaged in the flood. District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla asked tahsildars to hand over the details of the appeals submitted by people in their respective areas to the appeal cell.

“Flood victims whose houses were totally damaged in the floods were asked to submit their applications or appeals to the respective local bodies, there were complaints that some of the deserving were not included in the preliminary list, so they were asked to submit an appeal. However, some of the local body offices are not ready to hand over the details of the appeal to the executive engineers appointed by the district administration,” he said.

The Collector also asked the respective local bodies to not withhold the appeals submitted by beneficiaries. “We are requesting local body offices to cooperate with the district administration so justice is not denied to the beneficiaries,” Safirulla added.

The Collector added the applications submitted by those who have incurred partial damage on their houses can be considered only once the grievances of those whose houses were completely damaged are resolved. “We are requesting local body offices to cooperate with the district administration so justice is not denied to the beneficiaries,” Safirulla added.

Houses which have suffered below 75 per cent damage are excluded from the list, prepared as part of Rebuild Kerala. Those who have all the necessary documents and are ready to construct their house on their own using the funds provided by the district administration, though they have the necessary documents but need financial support; those who are residing in purambokke land which can be legally documented; and those who lost land and house are the major categories to be included in the first phase of Rebuild Kerala.

The initial list was prepared by LSG secretaries and assistant engineers after site inspection. If the house was damaged due to age or in an earlier calamity, it will not be included in the Rebuild Kerala list. In Ernakulam, a total of 2,923 houses were damaged in the floods and the inspection of 1,923 houses was completed.

Rs 6.98 crore distributed

Rs 6.98 crore was distributed to 734 beneficiaries; 226 cases which require the financial assistance of district administration are pending.

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