Government to issue Rs 1 lakh interest-free loan to flood-affected families

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Steps have been completed for issuing interest-free loans up to Rs 1 lakh to the flood-affected to repair and refurbish their houses, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday.

The loans are disbursed to the eldest female member of the family and steps have been completed to issue the loans to 80,461 applicants through the Kudumbashree. The remaining applications are being processed, the Chief Minister said in a release issued here. The digital survey of 1.79 lakh houses for flood-induced damage have been completed. The verification of 50,000 houses is also over.

The government has, so far, issued the immediate financial assistance of Rs 10,000 declared in the wake of the floods to 5.5 lakh people, said Pinarayi. The disbursal of the financial assistance is almost complete, he said. As many as 300 families have benefited from the financial assistance for the families of  deceased. The relief materials that have arrived from within the state and from outside are being distributed as per proper procedures, he said. Those who have lost their land to the floods will receive, if they have no other land, Rs 6 lakh from the govt.

2,500 people still in relief camps

Chief Minister said 2,457 individuals belonging to 787 families are still living in relief camps opened in the wake of the floods. Of the hundreds of relief camps opened after the floods, 80 are still operating. Various institutions, agencies and organisations have expressed their readiness to build houses, schools and hospitals and repair damaged structures. The government has opened a special web portal for them, the CM said.