Snehasanthwanam Scheme

What is the Snehasanthwanam scheme?

Snehasanthwanam is a Kerala Social Security Mission scheme, started in December 2010, that pays a monthly allowance and education assistance to people affected by Endosulfan pesticide exposure. Snehasanthwanam is the state's direct cash response to the aerial spraying of Endosulfan over cashew plantations in Kasaragod district, which left a large number of residents with severe physical and neurological disabilities, congenital conditions and chronic illness.

Snehasanthwanam is administered by the Kerala Social Security Mission under the Social Justice Department, and the beneficiary list is not built by the Mission itself. Payment is made on the basis of the list of victims furnished by the District Collector. That single design decision is the most important thing to understand about the scheme: eligibility is settled at the Collectorate through medical camps and expert examination, and the Mission then pays whoever is on that list.

What Snehasanthwanam provides

• A monthly allowance to every listed victim, at one of two rates depending on whether the person is bedridden.
• Annual education assistance for children of affected families, graded by the class the child is studying in.
• A linked caregiver allowance under Aswasakiranam for those looking after the most severely affected.

Alongside the cash support, the Social Justice Department runs Sahajeevanam Snehagramam, a rehabilitation village at Muthalappara in Muliyar grama panchayat, Kasaragod, which provides a foster care home for those under 18, assisted living for adults, halfway homes and high-dependency care for bedridden residents. Snehagramam can be contacted on 04994 292648. Families drawing Snehasanthwanam are often the same families who use Snehagramam's hydrotherapy and clinical psychology blocks.

How much money does Snehasanthwanam pay?

The monthly allowance is credited to the beneficiary's bank account. Where the victim cannot operate an account, payment is routed through a guardian's account recorded with the Mission.

Who is eligible for Snehasanthwanam?

A person can be enrolled if:

• The person is a resident of Kerala in the Endosulfan-affected area, overwhelmingly Kasaragod district.
• The person's name appears on the official list of Endosulfan victims prepared and revised by the District Collector.
• A medical or disability certificate establishes the condition, and where the higher slab is claimed, that the person is bedridden.

A person is not eligible if:

• The name is not on the District Collector's list. This is the decisive test. Similar symptoms, or a neighbour's inclusion, do not create entitlement. The claim has to go through the Collectorate's own verification process.
• The person is a resident of another state, even if treatment is being taken in Kerala.
• The disability or illness is unrelated to Endosulfan exposure. Kerala runs separate disability pensions and medical assistance schemes for those cases, and applying under the wrong scheme only delays help.

If you believe a family member should be on the list but is not, the route is not an appeal to the Social Security Mission. It is a claim to the District Collectorate, Kasaragod, at the next round of medical camps.

What documents are required for Snehasanthwanam?

How to apply for Snehasanthwanam

1. Establish inclusion in the victims list. Approach the District Collectorate, Kasaragod. Where a person is not yet listed, submit a claim when the district announces a medical camp or a revision of the list; a specialist medical board examines claims before names are added.
2. Obtain the medical or disability certificate from the government medical board, stating the condition and whether the person is bedridden. This decides whether the Rs 1,700 or the Rs 1,200 monthly rate applies.
3. Collect and fill the Snehasanthwanam application form, available from the District Social Justice Office or the Kerala Social Security Mission's district contact point.
4. Attach the supporting documents — proof of listing, medical certificate, Aadhaar, bank passbook copy and residence proof. For education assistance, add the school certificate showing the child's class.
5. Submit the application to the District Social Justice Officer or the Social Security Mission office handling Endosulfan relief in the district.
6. Confirm the bank details are recorded correctly before leaving. Most payment failures in the scheme trace back to a wrong or dormant account number rather than to eligibility.

How do I check my Snehasanthwanam payment status?

Snehasanthwanam does not publish a self-service status portal. Payment status is checked through:

• Your bank passbook or SMS alerts, since the allowance is credited directly.
• The District Social Justice Office, which holds the district payment register.
• The Kerala Social Security Mission, reachable through the Social Justice Department on 0471-2306040 or 0471-2302887.

If an allowance stops, check first whether the bank account has gone dormant or KYC has lapsed. That accounts for a large share of stopped payments and is fixed at the bank branch, not at the Collectorate.

Why do Snehasanthwanam payments get held up?

• Name removed or not carried forward when the District Collector's list is revised. This must be taken up at the Collectorate.
• Dormant or closed bank account, or an account whose KYC has expired.
• Aadhaar not seeded to the bank account used for the transfer.
• Death of the beneficiary not reported, which suspends the whole record and complicates any survivor claim.
• Slab dispute. A person recorded as non-bedridden claiming the Rs 1,700 rate needs a fresh medical certificate, not a written request.
• Education assistance claimed without a current school certificate for the academic year.

What are the key dates for Snehasanthwanam?

Snehasanthwanam has run since December 2010 and has no annual application window. Enrolment is tied to the District Collector's list, which is revised periodically rather than on a fixed calendar, and to the medical camps the district government announces for examining fresh claims. Watch district announcements from the Kasaragod Collectorate for those camp dates, they are the only real deadline in this scheme.

How to raise a grievance about Snehasanthwanam

• Social Justice Department, Government of Kerala: 0471-2306040 / 0471-2302887
• Email: swdkerala@gmail.com
• District Social Justice Officer, Kasaragod, for written complaints on payment and slab issues
• District Collectorate, Kasaragod, for anything to do with inclusion in or removal from the victims list
• Sahajeevanam Snehagramam, Muthalappara, Muliyar P.O., Kasaragod 671542: 04994 292648, for rehabilitation and residential care

Snehasanthwanam enrolment is free of charge. No agent can secure a place on the Endosulfan victims list, and any demand for money to do so should be reported to the District Collectorate.