Relief as right: Why Kerala disaster survivors can't get a fair deal
Maximum amount a survivor of the 2019 landslides of Puthumala received from the government is Rs 10 lakh – Rs 6 lakh to buy land and Rs 4 lakh to build a house.
Maximum amount a survivor of the 2019 landslides of Puthumala received from the government is Rs 10 lakh – Rs 6 lakh to buy land and Rs 4 lakh to build a house.
Maximum amount a survivor of the 2019 landslides of Puthumala received from the government is Rs 10 lakh – Rs 6 lakh to buy land and Rs 4 lakh to build a house.
Kochi: Twelve days since the deadly landslides washed away vast swathes of land, claiming at least 225 lives and many houses, Kerala’s Wayanad is left with no option but to cope. After days of relentless search and rescue efforts, the state has switched to the necessary rehabilitation mode. The government has proposed a township, promising safety for the survivors, though the details are yet to be chalked out. While Kerala has maintained a better track record of rehabilitation keeping to the governmental guidelines despite its resource limitations, the latest disaster has triggered a call for a legal rethinking which recognises relief as a right.
Relief assistance for survivors of natural disasters is provided from the State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund based on the state government’s assistance. The aid, however, often focuses only on housing, leaving the survivors stare at rebuilding their lives from scratch. For instance, the maximum amount a survivor of the 2019 landslides of Puthumala received from the government is Rs 10 lakh – Rs 6 lakh to buy land and Rs 4 lakh to build a house. No matter how big your house was or how pricey your land was, the solatium amount remains the same.
Environmental engineer-turned-activist Sridhar Radhakrishnan is among those who see a disparity in this existing model of relief assistance. Even as acknowledging that there is an element of compassion in Kerala’s approach towards assisting victims of disasters, he called upon the state to set a new model in relief assistance. He said the state should explore the possibilities of bringing in a law on the lines of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
''We need a law that defines compensation to losses due to natural disasters as a right, rather than an act of sympathy or charity. The 2013 Act clearly defines the compensation to be provided to a person whose land is acquired by the government for developmental works. Similarly, those who lose their house or other properties and livelihood means deserve a full and fair compensation. The people who lose everything to such disasters should be enabled to feel that a full and fair compensation is their right. A law in this regard should even cover the mental trauma caused by such events,'' he said.
Such a law is critical to properly compensate and rehabilitate climate refugees and people who may be displaced for reasons such as eco-sensitive zones, landslide susceptible zones or flood-prone sites.
He said such a law should also have a provision to compensate the people who wish to relocate from vulnerable areas. '' Even if someone wants to relocate to a safer place they may not be able to sell the land because there won’t be any takers. If there is a law it would help such people and it would contribute to the disaster mitigation efforts too,'' he said. He said shortage of funds should not be an excuse for not framing such a law.
Badusha N , president of Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS), an environmental organisation earlier told Onmanorama that farmers losing land to natural calamities should be compensated for the loss of livelihood, the trauma they undergo, and the cost of displacement, apart from giving them farmland.
Harish Vasudevan, a high court lawyer known for his environmental interventions, supported the demand, terming it a 'great concept'. He, however, cited the impracticalities in effecting a new law in the disaster relief realm by the state government.
'' The existing law on disaster management already has provisions recognising relief assistance as a right. As per the law, the state government can raise the compensation amount if the prescribed amount is not sufficient in a case. For this, the state can bring in subordinate legislation in the form of rule. The state can also demand the Centre to raise its share,'' he said.
He pointed out Section 19 of the Disaster Management Act which says the state can lay down detailed guidelines for providing standards of relief to victims.