He expressed the government’s deep displeasure at the fact that banks continue to debit monthly installments from the survivors’ accounts.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly objected to the banks deducting monthly loan instalments from the accounts of the victims and survivors of the Wayanad landslide and demanded that these loans be completely waived.
“Loan waiver would not impose an unbearable burden on banks and should, therefore, be waived in full,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, August 19, 2024.
CM Vijayan, while addressing the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) in Thiruvananthapuram, said that reducing interest rates or extending the timeframe for remitting monthly instalments in the landslide-affected areas was by no means a solution.
“Many of the borrowers have died and their land has become unusable due to the disaster. The only thing we can do is write off all the loans taken by the people in these affected areas,” said Vijayan.
He expressed the government’s deep displeasure at the fact that banks continue to deduct monthly instalments from the survivors’ accounts and called on the SLBC to take a positive decision on the matter.
Recalling the July 30 disaster, the Chief Minister said that many victims or survivors of the landslide in Wayanad were engaged in agriculture, but the disaster had even changed the geography of the agricultural land there.
Citing reports, he said the affected areas had become unusable and neither cultivation nor settlement was possible there.
“Most farmers in the areas have taken loans. Those who had taken a loan to build a house have lost the house itself,” the chief minister said, adding that they are now unable to repay the instalments.
Vijayan’s reaction came amid violent protests against Kerala Gramin Bank, which allegedly debited monthly installments from the accounts of some landslide survivors in Wayanad.
The amount was reportedly deducted from the emergency aid approved for them by the government.
“The government provided the relief amount to the survivors to meet their immediate needs as they had lost everything. The amount was disbursed through various banks,” he said.
He criticised Gramin Bank for withholding monthly installment payments from the bereaved families and said: “I will not say anything more on this. Nothing should be done mechanically at this point.”
The Mundakkai and Chooralamala regions of Wayanad were hit by severe landslides on July 30, killing over 200 people and causing extensive property damage.
(With PTI inputs)
