Wayanad (Kerala) | Kerala Agriculture Minister T Siddique on Monday assured survivors of the 2024 Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslide in this district that the remaining micro-plan assistance would be released within a week, following protests over the delay in disbursing the funds.
The minister gave the assurance while addressing affected families who staged a protest here demanding the release of the financial assistance promised under the family-specific micro-plan scheme.
Siddique said that a Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising the Revenue Minister, Local Self-Government Minister and himself will meet on Tuesday evening to take a final decision on the issue.
"Measures have been taken to ensure that each eligible family receives Rs 2 lakh within a week. Necessary directions have already been issued to the district administration, and all procedures will be completed without delay," Siddique told the protesters.
The previous LDF government had introduced family-specific micro-plans for survivors of the July 2024 Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslide, which claimed several lives and devastated large parts of Wayanad.
The scheme, funded through the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), required beneficiary families to submit individual micro-plans based on which financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakh was to be sanctioned.
Siddique said Rs 4.14 crore had already been disbursed to 290 beneficiaries under various micro-plans.
However, since the amount sanctioned varied depending on the plans submitted by individual families, several beneficiaries complained about the disparity.
"The government has now decided to provide a uniform assistance of Rs 2 lakh to every eligible family instead of varying amounts. The remaining funds required will be sanctioned after the Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting," he said.
According to the minister, around Rs 9 crore is required for the scheme, of which Rs 4.14 crore has already been released, while the balance amount will be sanctioned by the government after Tuesday's meeting.
He also said pending issues relating to loans availed by landslide survivors under different rehabilitation phases would be discussed at the meeting.
Referring to complaints that pledged gold had not been released by banks despite settlement of gold loans, Siddique said the district collector had been directed to convene an urgent meeting of bank officials on Tuesday and submit a report to the government.
"The concerns raised by the disaster-affected families are being treated with utmost seriousness. We want all pending issues to be resolved without any further delay," the minister said.
