Priyanka Gandhi slams Centre for not waiving loans of people affected in Wayanad landslides

"The Central Government's refusal to waive the loans of those affected by the devastating Wayanad landslides of 2024 is shocking," Priyanka Gandhi, who represents Wayanad Constituency in the Parliament, said in a post on X.

"Especially while the loans of certain large business houses are waived without hesitation. These loans represent the lives of people who have endured unimaginable pain for no fault of theirs- they total up to a minuscule amount in comparison. The Hon'ble Kerala High Court has observed- when people have most needed help, the Union Government has failed them. I couldn't agree more," she added.

Earlier in the day, the Kerala High Court criticised the Union government for refusing to waive the loans of the survivors of the devastating landslides. The remarks came while the court was considering a suo motu case it had initiated following the July 2024 landslides in Meppadi grama panchayat, which claimed hundreds of lives and left many families displaced.

The Central government has informed the High Court that the loans of the Mundake-Churalmala disaster victims cannot be waived. There is no provision in the law to waive bank loans, it said.

The Central government has informed the court that the matter is not come under the jurisdiction of the Centre, and the decision should be taken by the board of directors of the respective banks. The High Court criticised the central government's stance as disturbing

"If the bank is not interested in writing off the loan, it should show courage to say so openly. It is not right to say that the Centre does not have the authority. If this is the approach, the court will have to take a tough stand," the division Bench, comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian, said.

The Kerala High Court also mentioned orally that an interim order will be issued to stay the loan recovery proceedings of those affected by the Wayanad landslide. (ANI)