Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India]: Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday will provide financial assistance to the families of those who lost their lives in landslides and mudslides triggered by the torrential rains. An amount of Rs 4 lakh and Rs 1 lakh from the State Disaster Response Fund and the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund would be provided to the dependents of those who lost their lives in landslides and mudslides following the current heavy rains, said the Chief Minister’s Office. Cabinet also decided to provide relief of Rs10 lakh to the families affects by the disaster who have lost their house and land including those living inland without a title deed, added the CMO. It was decided to extend for a period of one year from the date of the order, the exemption of stamp duty and fee for attested copies of documents lost or destroyed in the floods of August 2018 and 2019 and 2021, as per the CMO. The State Disaster Management Authority will be directed to issue a list of villages to be notified in a timely manner by designating the eligible villages as flood-affected areas in view of the severity of the floods as per the Disaster Management Act, according to the CMO. Families living in homes, including those directly affected by more than 15 per cent of natural disasters, will be considered disaster-affected families. The approach adopted during the 2019 natural disaster would be continued to provide assistance for homes and land that have been partially or completely damaged. The cabinet also decided to provide financial assistance to repay a home loan of Rs 27.6 lakh taken by the family of soldier H.Vaisakh who was martyred in Kashmir this is in addition to Rs 10 lakh received from the Military Welfare Department. Forty-two people have died due to rains and landslides between October 12 and 20, while six people are missing, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan earlier.
