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NTPC has fast-tracked the procedure for disbursal of compensation to “the immediate families of those who lost their lives in the natural disaster” that struck its under-construction Tapovan Vishnugad hydroelectric project in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on February 7.
NTPC is extending a compensation of ₹20 lakh to the immediate family of the contract labourers of the agency engaged in construction of NTPC project, the firm said in a statement.
State and Centre have separately announced compensation package of ₹4 lakh and ₹2 lakh, respectively. Further, compensation against the provident fund and Employees’ Compensation Act covered under statutory provisions of the workers in the range of ₹5 lakh to ₹15 lakh will also be made available, the statement added.
The firm has not disclosed the exact number of workers at the affected project. On February 9, Home Minister Amit Shah had told Parliament that according to information received from the government of Uttarakhand, 139 people are missing from the Tapovan Vishnugad project, while 12 others have been rescued from the site.
Rescue efforts delivered their best results in the first few hours after a glacial outburst led to massive flash floods that hit not only NTPC’s 520MW project but also washed away the 13.2 MW Rishi Ganga hydroelectric project, which was operational. Hope for finding the workers alive has now dimmed.
The NTPC engineering team’s close coordination with rescue teams had helped them comprehend the design of tunnels, helping save these 12 lives, the firm said.