M'lore air crash: Kerala CM resents delay in solatium payment

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Achuthanandan said that as per the Montreal Convention, the families of the victims were entitled to get Rs 70 lakh each.

Though the Centre had initially promised that the bereaved families would be adequately compensated, it turned out that Air India was trying to go back on this and work out the solatium by factoring in the income profile of each of the victims, he said.

Achurhanandan said, "most of the 168 passengers killed in the air tragedy, especially the Keralites, were those working on low wages in the Gulf countries. If the compensation was made on Air India's norms, their families would be getting only a meagre amount."

He said the Prime Minister's intervention was important in the matter to ensure that the affected families receive compensation at the internationally accepted rates, Achuthanandan said.

The Mangalore-bound Air India Express plane from Dubai crashed and caught fire after it overshot the runway while landing at the airport, killing 158 people.