Cuttack, Sept. 4: Orissa High Court today directed the state government to pay an interim compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the parents of the seven children who were killed when the wall of an anganwadi centre collapsed.

The incident had occurred at Nelia Upper Primary School at Suansia Sahi of Ranpur block in Nayagarh district when the children were having their lunch as part of the mid-day meal programme on July 9.

The court was hearing two separate petitions, along with a fresh petition filed by advocate Dillip Kumar Mohapatra, who had filed another PIL in February 2011 on the state anganwadi centres in Odisha.

Earlier, Nayagarh collector Saroj Kanta Choudhury had filed an affidavit stating that “the family of the seven deceased children have received Rs 2.10 lakh each”.

“While Rs 1 lakh ex-gratia was sanctioned from the chief minister’s relief fund, another Rs 1 lakh was paid from the Odisha Red Cross Society. Besides, Rs 10,000 was also donated by the District Red Cross Society,” Choudhury said.

But, a fresh petition for Rs 12 lakh compensation was filed today on behalf of the families of the seven victims at the anganwadi centre. Dillip Kumar Mohapatra filed the petition on the basis of individual letters from the fathers of the seven deceased children seeking enhanced compensation.

Taking note of the arguments, the division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice S.K. Mishra posted the hearing to September 18, while directing the Odisha government to pay within two weeks the interim compensation of Rs 1 lakh.