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Journalism of Courage
Three years after the devastating earthquake which hit the Garwhal Himalayas on March 29, 1999, the Uttaranchal government has finally decided to pay cash compensation to the quake victims.
Following the earthquake, then Uttar Pradesh government had decided to grant cash compensation to the victims, but except for a few, most of the victims were kept waiting for government help.
In order to ascertain the amount of compensation, a survey was conducted of the damaged houses in the region by the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, and the report — which categorised the damaged and partially damaged houses under five categories — was submitted to the government long ago.
Now, acting on the report, the state has decided to allocate a sum of Rs 6 crore, out of a total compensation amount of Rs 42.75 crore, to be paid out to the victims as per the survey report. The highest compensation for total damage would be Rs 25,000 and minimum Rs 800 per house.
Harak Singh Rawat, Uttaranchal Minister for Disaster Management said all the victims will be paid compensation within a period of three months. The quake had left more than a hundred persons dead in Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garwhal and Pauri Garwhal districts.
