KOCHI: The High Court on Thursday directed the state government to pay compensation to eligible victims of the 2018 Mid-August flood within one month.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar issued the order on a batch of petitions regarding the last year’s flood.
When the case came up for hearing, Amicus Curiae Jacob P Alex submitted that though many people were informed that their claims were allowed either wholly or partially and intimated of the amount that they were entitled to get, the amount has not been paid till date.
Taking note of this, the court directed that “the amounts found payable to the various claimants be disbursed to them within one month.”The amicus curiae suggested that Para Legal Volunteers associated with the Kerala Legal Service Authority (KeLSA) may be deployed to assist claimants in the formalities required for pursuing their claims and receiving the amount.
To this, the bench suggested that a member of the KeLSA be present before the court on September 30. Additional Advocate General (AAG) Ranjith Thampan produced a template prepared by the National Informatics Centre for facilitating easy access of the flood-affected persons, with regard to the status of their claims for flood relief or assistance announced by the state.
The format indicates that the details, including the status of the claim, the status of the appeal, if any, preferred by a person, and also the nature of the final decision taken on the appeal and the reasons thereof, will be made available to the claimants.
The AAG also submitted that the format will also convey to the claimants the exact amount that has been sanctioned in their favour, at each stage of the adjudicatory process. The court observed that a publication of data in the prescribed format would enable the flood victims to track the progress of their claims on the government website.
NIC template
Additional Advocate General Ranjith Thampan produced a template prepared by the National Informatics Centre for facilitating easy access of flood victims with regard to the status of their claims for flood relief or assistance announced by the state.