Kochi: There have been numerous complaints regarding the delay in paying compensation for people who suffered losses during the floods that ravaged Kerala last year. Intervening in the matter, the Kerala High Court has directed the state government to pay the amount to every deserving person within one month.
The court order was issued while considering a batch of petitions received regarding the delay. Another complaint submitted before the court pointed out that several deserving people were excluded from the list of beneficiaries.
During the proceedings, the court enquired with the government counsel regarding the number of people who have been given the aid. The government’s advocate told the court that details regarding the flood-affected are being tabulated in a special format. Facts were collected from each district in a centralised manner, which led to some delay, according to the state government. The government sought a time of three months to complete the process.
Pointing out that flooding had occurred this year also, the government said that the workload of officials had increased. Citing this reason, the counsel urged for more time to carry out the paperwork. However, the court ruled that a list of the people who have received the money should be submitted before it within one-and-a-half months.
