Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 10: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said that the Union government decision not to waive loans of people affected by the landslides in Wayanad in July last year was a “betrayal”.
Priyanka, also the MP from Wayanad, was referring to the central government affidavit in the Kerala High Court stating that the loans can only be rescheduled or restructured in accordance with the RBI’s Master Directions on Natural Calamities.
“Wayanad landslide victims have lost everything — homes, land, livelihoods. Yet, the government refuses to offer even a loan waiver. Instead, they get mere loan rescheduling and restructuring. This is not a relief. This is a betrayal,” she said in a Facebook post.
The Congress MP further said that she and her party “strongly condemn this apathy and stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Wayanad”.
“Their pain will not be ignored. We will raise their voices at every platform until justice is served,” she said.
The Centre’s affidavit had come in response to the High Court’s query on whether the loans availed by the affected individuals could be waived.
In the affidavit, the Union Finance Ministry had stated that a special meeting of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) of Kerala was held on August 19 last year.
The meeting, which was also attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to extend the applicable relief measures in line with the RBI’s Master Directions on Natural Calamities.
According to RBI’s master directions, in the event of a natural calamity, the financial relief measures to be adopted include the restructuring or rescheduling of existing loans which would entail a one-year moratorium and the provision of fresh loans.
This affidavit was filed in a PIL initiated by the court on its own in the wake of the Wayanad landslides, aimed at improving disaster prevention and management in Kerala.
A major landslide struck the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions on July 30 last year, almost completely decimating both areas.
The disaster claimed over 200 lives, left hundreds injured and 32 persons remain missing. (PTI)
