Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said families having physically challenged members will get a monthly pension of Rs 250. They will be also given 35 kg of rice a month at Rs 2 a kg.
He pointed out that about 1,960 families in Kasargod district were affected by water and environmental pollution caused by the spraying of endosulfan.
For 20 long years, endosulfan was sprayed aerially in cashew plantations owned by the Plantation Corporation of Kerala. Several studies claimed that this was the prime reason for the various kinds of diseases and disorders seen among the people residing near the area. Many families in the locality have children born with physical deformities or neurological disorders.
The chief minister said people in 11 panchayats on the eastern side of the district were the worst affected. Though Kerala had banned the use of endosulfan, the Centre was in no mood to ban it.
The state would try to prevail on the Centre in this regard.
Published 16 December 2009, 18:18 IST