Following spot checks, the Mamata Banerjee government rejected nearly half of the compensation claims in the aftermath of Cyclone Yaas as fake. “Through the Duare Tran programme, the state received 3,81,774 petitions for compensation following Yaas. However, block development officers or heads of urban local bodies have rejected 1,86,815 applications because they were not proven to be legitimate, according to a senior government official.
“This time, the whole point of state teams reviewing applications was to catch false claims in the act. Following Amphan last year, complaints of misdeeds surfaced after doles were distributed, and officials conducted verifications. Sudipta Porel, additional district magistrate, East Midnapore, remarked, “I was part of the survey team for Nandigram last year.” Yaas doles of Rs 20,000 for full damage and Rs 5,000 for partial damage would be awarded to applicants who pass verification. On Thursday, compensation was issued after verification.
According to sources, the state spent more than Rs 8,000 crore on compensation after the Amphan incident. “This time, detailed application verification will lessen the strain on the state exchequer by ensuring that only valid claims are paid out. No phoney applications will be accepted. “It will not make the ruling establishment seem bad,” an insider added.