Betrayal: Priyanka slams Centre on no loan waiver for Wayanad landslides
New Delhi (PTI): With the Centre telling the Kerala High Court that the loans of people affected by the landslides in Wayanad last year would not be waived, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said this is a "betrayal" and her party strongly condemns this "apathy".
The Union government has told the Kerala High Court that the loans of people affected by the landslides in Wayanad in July last year would not be waived. Instead, they will be rescheduled or restructured in accordance with the RBI's Master Directions on Natural Calamities.
The Centre made this submission in an affidavit filed in response to the high court's query on whether the loans availed by the affected individuals could be waived.
Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Vadra said, "We strongly condemn this apathy and stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Wayanad."
"Wayanad landslide victims have lost everything - homes, land, livelihoods. Yet, the government refuses to offer even a loan waiver. Instead, they get mere loan rescheduling and restructuring," she said.
"This is not relief. This is a betrayal. We strongly condemn this apathy and stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Wayanad.Their pain will not be ignored - we will raise their voices at every platform until justice is served," Gandhi said in a post on X.
In the affidavit, the Union Finance Ministry stated that a special meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) Kerala was held on August 19 last year.
The meeting, which was also attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to extend the applicable relief measures in line with the RBI's Master Directions on Natural Calamities.
According to the RBI's master directions, in the event of a natural calamity, the financial relief measures to be adopted include the restructuring or rescheduling of existing loans which would entail a one-year moratorium and the provision of fresh loans.
The Centre had earlier informed a bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Easwaran S that the proposed measures were limited to a moratorium and restructuring of loans availed by the landslide victims.
This submission was made during the hearing of a PIL initiated by the court on its own in the wake of the Wayanad landslides, aimed at improving disaster prevention and management in Kerala.
A major landslide struck the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions on July 30 last year, almost decimating both areas.
The disaster left hundreds injured, claimed over 200 lives, and 32 persons remain missing.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
