Shillong, Aug 27: Nongkrem MLA Ardent M Basaiawmoit of the opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) clashed with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in the Assembly today over the payment of compensation to the families of the five who died in the Lapalang well asphyxiation incident in July.
Basaiawmoit raised the matter in the Assembly today, alleging that the victims’ families were not provided with ex-gratia assistance from the State Disaster Management Fund (SDMF). However, in response, the CM said that the families had indeed received compensation but through the Chief Minister’s Special Grant (CMSG) and not the SDMF.
Three workers and two people who tried to rescue them died from suffocation in an under-construction well in Lapalang last month. A diesel generator in the unventilated space resulted in the five breathing in dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
Basaiawmoit sought clarity on the government’s policy for providing ex-gratia assistance and asked whether there was a uniform set of guidelines governing such payments.
Replying to the issue, Sangma said the assertion that no ex-gratia assistance had been provided was incorrect.
Sangma explained that assistance under the SDMF is governed by the provisions of the disaster management framework and is applicable to specific categories of natural disasters covered therein.
As the Lapalang incident was an accident, rather than a disaster falling within the applicable SDMF categories, the government could not provide assistance from that fund, he said.
The CM said the CMSG provided the government with another avenue to assist families in circumstances that do not fall under the SDMF.
Unlike the SDMF, however, the CMSG does not have fixed guidelines prescribing a particular amount of ex-gratia assistance. The amount and decision to provide assistance are determined based on the circumstances of each case, he said.
Sangma said the government had to exercise caution in extending such assistance, as providing ex-gratia in one accident could create a precedent and lead to demands for similar assistance in every accident.
In the Lapalang case, the government considered both the circumstances surrounding the incident and the situation of the affected families before deciding to extend financial assistance, Sangma said.
He added that the assistance was provided without any public announcement and acknowledged that the decision not to publicise the payment may have been why the assistance was not known to the media or legislators who subsequently raised the issue.
