The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court was on Friday told that the State government had sanctioned ₹ 3 lakh each to the families of the 14 victims who lost their lives in the fire accident at Rajammal Fireworks unit in Virudhunagar district in 2020.
Justice C.V. Karthikeyan took note of the submission by the State that the amount was sanctioned from the Chief Minister’s relief fund. The family members of the victims had to appear before the Virudhunagar Collector and the amount would be handed over to them, the court was told.
The judge, who was hearing the petitions filed by the family members of the victims, directed Virudhunagar District Legal Services Authority to take necessary efforts to ensure that the amount was paid to them.
They had complained that the government had announced an interim compensation of ₹ 1 lakh each and the Collector had also assured them that adequate compensation would be provided to them. They had sent several representations to the authorities in this regard, but they did not receive any compensation, they said.
They said since the State had allowed Rajammal Fireworks to function without a proper licence and permission, the authorities were vicariously liable to pay the compensation. The authorities had failed to properly monitor cracker units in the region, they said.
