A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the State government to file an affidavit in response to a petition alleging that certain banks had initiated recovery proceedings against the victims of endosulfan in Kasaragod as the government had failed to implement its decision to waive off the loans taken by them.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice K. Vinod Chandran issued the directive on a petition filed by B.C. Kumaran of Kasaragod.
The court also directed the State government to state in the affidavit the action taken for the rehabilitation, treatment and welfare of endosulfan victims.
The Bench noted that the State government had not filed any affidavit in this regard till date despite the court directive.
The court had passed the directive when a writ filed by Mr. Kumaran seeking a directive to pay compensation to the victims identified came up for hearing.
The court asked the State government to apprise the court of the steps taken to issue identity cards to the victims of endosulfan so that they could obtain medical aid from the hospitals. The court ordered that the affidavit be filed on or before October 9.
In his petition, the petitioner said the decision of the State government to write off loans taken by the victims had not been implemented. The decision was taken in 2014.
Besides, many banks such as the State Bank of India, cooperative banks and other financial institutions had initiated recovery proceedings against the victims. Though the government order said that debts between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 2 lakh would be included in the debt relief scheme, the banks had taken a stand that the government order did not apply to them and they were not bound by the government decision. The interest on the loans was accumulating because of the non-implementation of the government decision. The petition also said that as promised by the government, no medical camps had been organised for the victims. Nor were any medicines made available to them. Likewise, the Buds schools had not been started. The decision of the government to remove endosulfan kept in godowns was yet to be implemented
‘Banks initiating recovery proceedings’
Court asks State to apprise it of steps taken
