The re-categorised list of endosulfan victims in 11 panchayats of the district has shattered the hopes of many patients, who were under the impression that the government’s decision to pay the compensation recommended by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) would end their woes to some extent. The rehabilitation package, though not a rightful compensation for many who cannot even get out of their beds, could have been a relief.
Janu Naik, 64, who committed suicide by consuming poison at his residence in Bellur on Monday, was one among them.
According to health officials who knew Janu Naik, he was very disappointed to know that his name was not included in the fresh list.
A throat cancer patient, Naik was a first category victim in the previous list that is available at the Endosulfan Cell here. “In the new list, as many as 103 patients are included in the ‘totally bedridden’ category. The government plans to pay the compensation by Onam,” Deputy Collector P K Sudheer Babu said. As per the previous list, there were a total of 4,880 endosulfan victims in the district of whom 567 were bedridden.
The number of bedridden patients has declined to a mere 103 in the fresh list as against the earlier 567, a huge difference of 464 beneficiaries. As many as 734 people in the list are dead.
Currently, there are only 103 persons in the bedridden category, which means that the compensation to be given to them has been reduced to Rs 5.15 crore from Rs 28.35 crore. If at all the 464 patients get included in the fourth category, that is ‘persons with disability’, only Rs 13.92 crore will be needed as compensation.
The district administration has received only the first category list so far.
The government had agreed to pay Rs 5 lakh to the bedridden victims, of which Rs 3 lakh will be given in the first phase.
This amount will be distributed in two instalments of Rs 1.5 lakh. The remaining Rs2 lakh will be kept as a deposit and the beneficiaries will be given a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 for a period of five years, that is equal to the return for long-term deposit.
According to District Collector V N Jithendaran, the list is tentative and was published after a thorough study of patients’ case history by experts. “The re-categorisation was done solely for matching the government’s list with the commission’s list. We have also invited objections if there are any,” he added.
The NHRC has categorised the endosulfan victims into four sections -- bedridden, deceased persons, mentally-challenged patients and persons with disability. “But the district administration did not have a separate list of mentally challenged patients,” said Sudheer Babu, adding that they were expecting the second category list in a couple of days.
“We have received a number of objections from various panchayats which were handed over to the DMO,” he added.
The decision for re-categorising the victims’ list was taken at a meeting held in the presence of the chief secretary, finance secretary and health secretary in Thiruvananthapuram on July 24. District Collector V N Jithendran, Deputy Collector Sudheer Babu and NRHM coordinator Dr Asheel had attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, social activists here believe that the re-categorisation was the result of a conspiracy by the government to drop beneficiaries from the list and reduce the compensation amount. According to activist Narayanan Periya, the re-categorisation was done just to reduce the number of beneficiaries. “How can doctors know the plight of patients just by studying their case history? We can accept the list only if it is prepared after a comprehensive medical camp. How can they rely on medical reports to categorise victims? It should not be a drag and drop exercise,” he said.