With a 300% increase in one month; seven municipalities in Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo already have access to the online platform
The indemnity acceptance agreements for hard-to-prove damage cases increased by about 300% in just over one month using the Simplified Indemnity System, from 500 approved cases in late October to 2,007 in early December. The new, more agile payment flow was implemented by the Renova Foundation in August 2020, following a decision by the 12th Federal Court, in actions filed by Commissions of People Affected due to the damages caused by the Fundao dam collapse. The percentage shows that adherence to the system increases every day, as does the promptness of payments. The first of these indemnity payments was transferred on September 10.
Currently, seven municipalities have access to the new payment flow: Baixo Guandu, Sao Mateus, Aracruz, Conceiçao da Barra and Linhares, in Espirito Santo, and Naque and Itueta, in Minas Gerais. Through the Simplified Indemnity System, it is possible to indemnify categories with hard-to-prove damage, such as washerwomen, artisans, sand harvesters, trash scavengers, mineral extractors, subsistence fishermen, among others. The indemnity sums, defined by the Court, with a single and final settlement, vary from R$ 23,000 to R$ 567,000. Click here and see the sums by category.
Payment occurs within 10 working days after the approval of the acceptance agreement by the Court. On November 27, the total paid amount was R$ 122 million for 1,336 affected people.
Access
The Simplified Indemnity System can be accessed through the online platform called Attorney’s Portal, on the Renova Foundation website ( www.fundacaorenova.org). Participation is voluntary. To join, people must be represented by an attorney or public defender, as only these professionals can access and complete the data in the system. Furthermore, it must be confirmed that the party was at least 16 years of age at the time of the dam collapse and that they registered or requested registration in the Renova Foundation database by April 30, 2020.
The Court defined a deadline for joining the Simplified Indemnity System. For the municipality of Sao Mateus, this deadline is December 31, 2020. For other municipalities it is January 31, 2021.
The Renova Foundation informs that, until September 2020, R$ 2.65 billion has been paid in indemnities and financial aid to approximately 321 thousand people.