People affected from Tumiritinga, Galileia, São José do Goiabal, Pingo D’Água, Ponte Nova and Santa Cruz do Escalvado received their first payments
Claims paid through the Simplified Indemnity System continue to advance. In the municipalities of Tumiritinga, Galileia, São José do Goiabal, Pingo D’Água, Ponte Nova and Santa Cruz do Escalvado, in Minas Gerais, the first payments were made in August, totaling more than R$ 45 million for the six counties. Now, the 28 locations with access to the system are being compensated. In Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, payments reached more than R$ 2 billion paid to 21.4 thousand people until the beginning of August.
The Simplified Indemnity System was implemented by the Renova Foundation, in August 2020, by decision of the 12th Federal Court. It allows categories with difficulty in proving damage, such as washerwomen, artisans, sand harvesters, subsistence and informal fishermen, among others, to be compensated. The settlements are one-off and definitive payments, as ruled by the Court, and they vary from R$ 17,000 to R$ 567,000, according to the damage category. Click here to see the amounts.
Locations with access
In all locations with access to the system, the deadline for membership expires on October 31st. The municipalities of Ponte Nova, Tumiritinga, Santa Cruz do Escalvado, Naque, Itueta, Galileia, São José do Goiabal, Pingo d’Água, Aimorés, Rio Doce, Bugre, Caratinga, Sem Peixe, Ipaba, Periquito, Resplendor – including the riverside community of Vila Crenaque and except the Indigenous People -, and the districts of Senhora da Penha (Fernandes Tourinho), Ipaba do Paraíso (Santana do Paraíso), Cachoeira Escura (Belo Oriente), Baguari (Governador Valadares) and Reverses of Belém (Bom Jesus do Galho) have access to the Simplified Indemnity System in Minas Gerais. In Espirito Santo those locations are São Mateus, Linhares, Aracruz, Conceição da Barra, Baixo Guandu, Colatina and Marilandia.
Access
Joining the Simplified Indemnity System is optional and must be done through the Attorney’s Portal platform on the Renova Foundation website (www.fundacaorenova.org) by an attorney or public defender, in compliance with the judicial decision. In addition, it must be confirmed that the claimant 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.
In case representatives of the affected parties are facing any issues when using the platform, they can call 0800 031 2303 for assistance. The Renova Foundation is in permanent contact with the claimants’ attorneys via SMS, email or WhatsApp.