Union govt, NDMA can ask banks to waive loans of Wayanad landslides victims: Kerala HC

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday said that while the RBI cannot ask banks to waive the loans of Wayanad landslides victims, the Union government and the National Disaster Management Authority can do so. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Easwaran S said it will pass orders "nudging" the Centre and the NDMA to ask the banks to waive off the loans. The bench pointed out that the Kerala Bank had waived off the disaster victims' loans and it had an exposure of around Rs five crore.

The High Court observed that if the Kerala Bank can do it, then the other banks, which have lesser exposure, can also do the same. "It only requires a bit of goading from the NDMA and the Union government," it said. The observations came in the wake of the central government filing an affidavit earlier in the week stating that according to the RBI's Master Directions on Natural Calamities, the loans of the Wayanad landslides victims can only be restructured or rescheduled. The bench also directed the state government to take adequate measures, including removal of debris, to ensure there is not another disaster like the one last year. "Preparatory measures should start before the monsoons. It has already started raining now. The NDMA should liaise with the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to avert any possible disaster this year," the High Court said.

The bench was hearing 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 completely decimating both areas. The disaster left hundreds injured, claimed over 200 lives, and 32 persons remain missing.