Participating in the program is completely voluntary and free of charge
The Renova Foundation informs that it does not adopt any type of pressure on those affected by the Fundão dam collapse in Mariana, to make decisions on the offered indemnities. As much as about 180 thousand people have already been served in the financial aid, indemnity and anticipation programs and have accepted to receive the agreed amounts. The resources paid so far amount to approximately 400 million BRL.
The Mediated Indemnity Program (PIM) seeks to compensate those affected in a timely manner, alternative to a legal action, voluntary, with a mutual agreement and without the procedures and costs of a lawsuit. Participating in the program is completely voluntary and free of charge. There are no impositions and the affected parties can consult family, lawyers, public defenders or any other professional before accepting the indemnity or not.
In order to make the indemnification process for general damages possible, information on the damages suffered by the families is required. This information is organized through a register and joining is also voluntary. The register was created with the participation of federal, state and municipal governments. Among them, the Staff of the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Social Development, responsible for the Single Register (CAD), the mechanism for all social programs in Brazil, among other entities. The process of creating this register, as well as monitoring its implementation, is guided by the Inter-Federative Committee (CIF), which joins more than 40 public organizations.
HOW IT WORKS
In order to formulate a proposal, the indemnity process follows these steps:
- MEDIATION: The affected person has a meeting with a neutral and independent mediator for the complete comprehension of the case and for the understanding of possible issues (errors, inconsistencies) of the registration phase.
- DATA COLLECTION: Only authorized information is passed on to the Renova Foundation, which carries out as many meetings as necessary with the affected parties until it has all the information to make a precise formulation of the indemnity proposal possible.
- INITIAL PROPOSAL: A meeting is held to present the proposal with the presence of the affected party, its legal representatives, Renova and a neutral mediator. The calculations that were made to reach the indemnity amount are discussed. The affected party has the opportunity to explain any issues that should be considered for the agreement. With due verifications, adjustments are made.
- FINAL PROPOSAL: After the adjustments, Renova makes the indemnity proposal and the affected party has a deadline of 15 days to sign or not sign the agreement.
As in any composition, once the agreement is signed, any possible lawsuits are canceled due to the transaction made between the parties. The PIM also guarantees those affected that any future damages are not included in the discharge.
WATER SUPPLY INTERRUPTION AND DISTRIBUTION.
The indemnity calculation related to water was made considering the period of days that the town was left without supply (Governador Valadares was left 7 days without supply, for example) and the average amount of the population’s water bills. Based on this analysis, the Foundation proposed to tailor the indemnity to the amount of 1.000 BRL (in Colatina the amount is 880 BRL), considering the addition of 10% for vulnerable individuals. For example, a family that includes five people, a couple and three children, receives about 5,300 BRL. Each member of the family is indemnified. Including minors.
The Collaboration Agreement with the Court of the State of Minas Gerais (TJMG), signed in March 2017, has the objective of expediting the indemnities related to the interruption of water supply due to the collapse of the Fundão dam, requested in lawsuits. To meet this demand, an advanced post of self-conciliation will be created, with administration and autonomy of the TJMG, with the aim of offering another service to those affected who seek their rights. The signing of the Collaboration Agreement with TJMG reinforces the objective of the Renova Foundation to restore the communities affected by the dam collapse.
It is worth emphasizing that the requests related to water damages and general damages can be handled in 30 offices made available by Renova. The water indemnity process was initiated by the Renova Foundation in Governador Valadares in October 2016 and has extended to Colatina and other affected municipalities.
CUSTOMER SERVICE CHANNELS
We prioritize dialogue and transparency, so we provide Customer Service Channels for answering questions and registration of suggestions and requests on the Mediated Indemnity Program. Contact us by phone on 0800 031 2303 or by the form available on our website: http://www.fundacaorenova.org/fale-conosco/.
For complaints or anonymous statements about possible cases of irregularities, please call our Ombudsman on 0800 721 0717, by e-mail ouvidoria@fundacaorenova.org or by the site: https://www.canalconfidencial.com.br/fundacaorenova/.