Centre gets a month for scheme to help endosulfan victims

The High Court on Friday granted a month’s time to the Union government to implement the Niramaya scheme, for people disabled due to endosulfan poisoning.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna was hearing a suo motu petition. The counsel for the Union government submitted that the Niramaya scheme is conceived to help victims of endosulfan. 

He said that the scheme is a group insurance, which aims at reimbursement of entire hospital expenses to victims and sought time to implement it.

The State government submitted that it has, at present, identified 6,142 victims of endosulfan and issued stipend to 573 victims. Kantharaja, additional advocate general, submitted that the State government would provide medical aid to all victims.

Noting that stipend had been disbursed to all the victims as per the directions of the High Court, he said, “The money has been released and it is already with the deputy commissioners of the affected districts. But only those victims who have bank accounts have received the stipend. For others, money will be deposited once they open bank accounts.”

The court, during the previous hearing on January 28, 2014, had directed the government to pay a stipend of Rs 1,500 per month to each of those who suffered disability of 25 per cent to 60 per cent and Rs 3,000 for those with more than 60 per cent disability.