Meppadi landslide: Special loan scheme for Kudumbashree workers, Ujeevana package approved

The Kerala government has approved a special loan scheme for Kudumbashree members affected by the Meppadi landslide in Wayanad district, along with the Ujeevana rehabilitation loan scheme for disaster-affected families in Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.

The Ujeevana loan scheme aims to help disaster-affected residents restart their livelihoods by facilitating bank loans. The scheme will cover families from wards officially declared disaster-hit following the landslides that occurred on July 30, 2024, in Meppadi panchayat in Wayanad district and Vanimel panchayat in Kozhikode district.

A loan package worth ₹8.57 crore has been approved under the scheme. Of this, ₹1.94 crore, calculated as interest on the loans, will be provided from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund and routed to the Kudumbashree Mission through the Wayanad district collector.

The total estimated expenditure for the project is around ₹20 crore. This amount will be mobilised by granting relaxations in State Disaster Response Fund norms, in line with a High Court directive. The respective district collectors have been entrusted with releasing the government’s share of the Ujeevana loan scheme to the banks. The validity of the loan schemes will be until December 31, 2026.

The Ujeevana scheme is intended to support the revival of livelihoods of those affected by the landslide, including micro, small and medium commercial, trading and industrial units, approved homestays, dairy farmers, Kisan Credit Card holders, ornamental bird farmers, beekeepers, tourist vehicle owners and commercial vehicle owners.

Financial assistance under the scheme will be available only for loans disbursed through banks and banking or non-banking institutions that are members of the district-level bankers’ committee.