KASARAGOD: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has announced a rehabilitation programme for endosulfan victims with a view to ensuring them relief in a time-bound manner. The victims should be provided relief on a priority basis, Mr Chandy said at a review meeting at the Collectorate conference hall here on Monday. Mr. Chandy said the rehabilitation programme would be supervised by the District Collector. A post of Deputy Collector would be created specially to supervise and coordinate the programme. The government had already announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh each for close family members of those who died of diseases attributed to endosulfan spraying on cashew estates of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala in the district. Besides 486 victims who died up to 2008, another 194 victims would be added to the list, Mr. Chandy said. The ration cards of all deserving family members would be included in the Below Poverty Line category. The government had decided to provide free ration to all affected family members. On the demand to set up a medical college hospital or a super-specialty hospital to treat the victims in the district, he said a decision would be taken shortly after the Cabinet discussed the proposal. Till then, the patients would be provided free treatment at the Kozhikode and Pariyaram medical college hospitals and three hospitals in Mangalore. To address the acute shortage of specialised doctors and paramedical staff in the district hospital at Kanhangad and the general hospital in Kasaragod, adequate number of medical staff would be appointed and the facilities in these hospitals and other medical institutions in the affected areas would be upgraded. Similarly, a decision on setting up a special fund for the victims would be taken soon. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during a recent meeting, had promised to visit the endosulfan-affected areas in the district. Stating that Kerala wanted to provide Rs.5 lakh as compensation to every victim as suggested by the National Human Rights Commission, he said this could done only if the Centre contributed financial assistance to the State. Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated the online payment of compensation to the next of kin of the victims who died. He distributed educational assistance to 1,808 affected school-going children at a function at Municipal Town Hall. Later, he inaugurated the ambitious Rs.3.20-crore Athijeevanam (Survival) project aimed at providing free equipment to the affected.