A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday suggested that the State government devise a scientific formula for determining the compensation for the flood victims in the State.

The bench of Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar made the suggestion when a public interest ligation seeking to set up a special tribunal for assessing the damage and fixing the compensation for the flood victims.

‘Publish parameters’

The court orally suggested that there should be parameters for giving the compensation and it should be published for information of the public. The parameters could be based on the level of inundation, the extent of holdings and the extent of improvement made on the land before the flood ravaged the land.

The court felt that there was no need to deploy local self-government officials to assess the loss without a formula. Reports of revenue officials are not needed when it could be decided on the basis of satellite images. Besides, the parameters for assessment might vary from official to official. The victims should not be left to the mercy of the officials. If the government starts to fix compensation on a shaky foundation, there would be a flood of litigation, the court orally observed.