Wayanad landslides: Banks have taken steps to financially help survivors, says Kerala CM
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that steps to rehabilitate survivors of the landslides in Wayanad district were progressing and as part of it, banks have decided to refund EMIs deducted from victims' accounts after July 30 and restructure their existing loans.
Vijayan said on Tuesday that the banks will also present to their boards the suggestion to completely waive the loans taken by those affected by the landslides.
These decisions were taken at a State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) meeting held here on Monday, the CM said at a press conference here.
He said that in the meeting, it was decided to refund the EMIs collected after July 30 from those in the disaster-hit areas to their respective bank accounts.
The decision was taken to provide financial support to those who had to make various repayments even after the calamity.
In the meeting, it was also decided to restructure all existing loans taken for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes as soon as possible, provide unsecured consumption loans of up to Rs 25,000 for immediate relief that can be repaid in 30 months and suspend all the recovery procedures in the disaster-hit areas for the time being, the CM said.
Besides that, it was also decided that financial assistance provided to the affected persons shall not be converted into repayment of their existing financial obligations and review the National Automated Clearing House mandates related to bank accounts of people from disaster-hit areas to avoid financial stress on them, he said.
Additionally, the SLBC also asked banks to take necessary steps to ease the terms of new loans and provide them quickly to those affected by the disaster.
"The support of banks in Kerala is essential to bring back to the mainstream the unfortunate people who have lost their means of living and are struggling for survival," the CM said.
Vjiayan had on Monday expressed the government's strong displeasure over banks deducting monthly installments of loans from the accounts of landslide victims and survivors in Wayanad, and demanded that these loans be written off completely.
The other rehabilitation measures included arranging and providing accommodation to those who lost their homes in the landslides and providing Rs 6 lakh as compensation to the next of kin of those who died in the disaster.
The CM said that there were no survivors from 17 families who lived in the disaster-hit areas.
Meanwhile, 119 people remain to be found and DNA samples of 91 of their relatives have been collected and sent for testing.
Major landslides hit the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad on July 30, almost decimating both areas and killing over 200 people and injuring many.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
