In a speech to the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), the Prime Minister said that a reduction in interest rates or an extension of the payment period for monthly installments was not a solution in the landslide-affected regions. Many of the borrowers were dead and their land had become unusable after the disaster, he stressed.
“The only thing we can do is write off all the loans of the people in the affected areas,” said Vijayan.
He expressed the government’s deep displeasure over the banks’ continued collection of monthly instalments from the landslide survivors and called on the SLBC to take a positive decision in this regard.
Vijayan’s reaction came amid violent protests against Kerala Gramin Bank, which allegedly debited Rs 15,000 as monthly instalment from the account of one of the landslide survivors in Wayanad.
Various political parties staged protest rallies in front of the bank’s Kalpetta branch on Monday. On July 30, severe landslides occurred in Mundakkai and Chooralamala areas of Wayanad, almost completely destroying both areas and killing over 200 people and injuring many more.
