Govt issues guidelines for Wayanad landslide survivors 18 cr loan takeover, 3-member committee to process new applications

The Kerala government has sanctioned ₹18.75 crore from the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund to clear the loan arrears of families affected by the Wayanad landslide.

According to a government order issued on January 29, the sanctioned amount is based on a detailed report submitted by the Wayanad District Collector and covers loan arrears outstanding as of July 30, 2024. The funds will be released to banks through the District Collector.

The decision comes after the Centre failed to take a decision on writing off loans of the disaster-hit families despite repeated requests from the state and the intervention of the Kerala High Court. The order noted that the Centre had also withdrawn provisions under Section 13 of the Disaster Management Act that could have facilitated such relief.

The state government said it had initially decided to wait for a final decision after the court sought the centre's response. However, as the centre did not take any decision, the government chose to proceed with the loan settlement without further delay, stating that continued inaction would be unjustifiable.

The relief covers loans availed by individuals falling under the following categories:

• Families included in rehabilitation lists across various phases
• People who died in the disaster and their family members, even if they are not included in any beneficiary list, provided they are not permanent residents of the disaster-affected area.
• Traders operating as tenants in commercial buildings and not included in rehabilitation or beneficiary lists.
• Traders who own commercial buildings, but are not included in other beneficiary lists.
• Owners of commercial buildings who are not part of other beneficiary categories.

Any inclusion or exclusion of beneficiaries from the list submitted by the Wayanad District Collector will be decided by a high-level committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, with the Secretaries of the Disaster Management and Finance departments as members, the order said.

The total liability involves 1,620 loans taken by 555 beneficiaries. Of this, loans up to ₹10 lakh account for over ₹16.91 crore, while loans above ₹10 lakh amount to ₹1.84 crore. The government also said that ₹93.01 lakh already written off by Kerala Bank would be reimbursed. Interest accrued during the moratorium period declared after the disaster has not been included in the liability.

To ensure that the relief does not adversely affect the CIBIL scores of beneficiaries, the Chief Secretary has been directed to frame guidelines in consultation with the State Level Bankers’ Committee for a one-time settlement mechanism.

The order reiterated that extending timely assistance to families who lost lives, livelihoods and shelter in an unprecedented disaster is the responsibility of the government and that further delay would be grossly unjust.