Ksan rescue bill over Rs 3. 5 cr, interim relief only Rs 3L
SHILLONG: In an irony of sorts, the state government has incurred an expenditure of over 3.5 crore to rescue the trapped miners from the flooded Ksan mine but at the end, what the families of the victims received was only an interim relief of Rs 3 lakh each.
While the state government paid Rs 1 lakh each, the Centre had released Rs 2 lakh each to the families of 16 trapped miners.
Sources said that the families of nine miners had written conditional letters to the government to call off the rescue operations with a hope that they will be adequately compensated.
In fact, the concerned deputy commissioners had tried to convince the families to allow the government to call off the rescue operations.
However, the July 12 order of the Supreme Court said the ‘petitioner does not wish to press any other issues involved in the instant writ petition”.
The petitioner, Delhi-based lawyer Aditya N Prasad, was represented by senior lawyer Anand Grover.
The only matter which will come up for hearing after four weeks in the Supreme Court is regarding the standard operating procedure to be followed in future if such mine tragedies take place.
The two families of the victims at Lumthari, East Jaintia Hills had told the
media persons in the past that they needed adequate compensation since the families depended on those victims when they were alive.
An official source said the letters of the nine families were collected to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court to call off the rescue operations.
The Rajabala MLA Azad Zaman recently said that the state government can provide compensation to the families of the victims if no more compensation is paid from other quarters.