Has Kerala inflated Wayanad ‘estimates’ in note to Centre? Here’s what govt says

A dispute has broken out in Kerala over a memorandum submitted to the Centre by the state government projecting the estimated cost of rescue, rehabilitation, and rebuilding in Wayanad after the devastating July-end landslides.

While a section of the media has been telecasting news on the memorandum, sourced from a high court order, and projecting the figures submitted by the state as inflated, the Left-run government has termed it as a “conspiracy”.

Not expenditure statement, but proposal

Now, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has issued a statement clarifying that the memorandum was prepared based on preliminary estimates for emergency aid offered during the disaster and the anticipated costs of ongoing relief efforts.

“It is not a statement of actual expenditures but a proposal that anticipates the necessary actions for rescue and rehabilitation in the affected regions. Misleading campaigns, claiming inflated bills and expenditures based on this memorandum undermine the state government’s efforts to secure central aid for the Wayanad landslide disaster and goes against the interests of the state and appears to be an attempt to sabotage the reconstruction efforts in Wayanad. It should be viewed as a covert strategy to deny the much-needed assistance to disaster victims,” read the statement.

Deliberate, says minister

“The relentless coverage blaming the government, even after the state clarified that it is not an expenditure statement but a projected estimation, shows that it’s deliberate,” Revenue Minister K Rajan told The Federal.

“This is a concerted effort to deny Kerala central aid by misrepresenting the estimates as inflated expenditures. Those behind this will owe an apology to the state of Kerala,” added the minister.

High Court order

On September 6, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court issued an interim order in the suo-motu case related to the July 30 Wayanad landslides. A key directive in the order was addressed to the Union government, concerning the persisting demand by the state government for the waiving of loans in the disaster-hit areas.

“The Central Government and the National Disaster Management Authority [NDMA] shall inform this Court whether it would be willing to issue directions to write off the personal loans, motor vehicle loans and housing loans availed by members of the affected families in Wayanad, in terms of Section 13 of the DMA, 2005,” read the order.

“They shall bear in mind that the Constitution of India exhorts every citizen, by imposing on them a fundamental duty, to show compassion to all living creatures, which term indubitably encompasses fellow citizens in distress,” it added.

Media focuses on memorandum

However, the high court’s crucial directive went largely unnoticed, as media outlets focused on another aspect of the order — the memorandum submitted to the Union government by the state for financial assistance.

The media highlighted the cost estimates prepared by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) for handling rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Wayanad, portraying it as an expense statement by the state government. These reports made the figures appear inflated and illogical.

Following a full day’s televised debate on nearly every news channel, the government was compelled to clarify that the figures were not actual expenses but rather projections aimed at securing assistance from the Union government.

What memorandum says

The memorandum estimates that the losses from the disaster are about Rs 1,202.12 crore.

The total assistance requested exceeds the currently available Rs 219.23 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

Additionally, a rough estimate of Rs 2,262 crore has been proposed for building a model township that would serve both the affected community and neighbouring areas.

The Kerala government has sought the continued support of the Centre for these rebuilding efforts.

What media reported

However, the media reports, at least initially, indicated that the government claimed to have spent Rs 2.76 crore on burying 359 bodies, at a rate of Rs 75,000 per body.

Other expenses listed in the memorandum included Rs 10 crore for food and water supplies for volunteers and troops, Rs 1 crore for constructing a Bailey bridge, and Rs 15 crore for accommodation for relief personnel, it was reported.

Additionally, Rs 17 crore was estimated for Indian Air Force operations related to transporting troops and victims. All these were reported as expenses by a section of the media, creating a furore with BJP and IUML accusing the government of corruption.

Previous Air Force bills

“We have not issued any expenditure statement yet. So far, we have spent less than Rs 15 crore, as the majority of expenses are still pending. In the estimate, we have quoted an airlifting expense of Rs 17 crore, but the Air Force has not demanded it yet,” said K Rajan.

“For the 2018 floods, the Air Force billed us Rs 102 crore in 2019, apart from Rs 28 crore airlifting costs for the 2017 Ockhi disaster, bringing the total to Rs 130 crore. We have learned these from previous experiences,” he explained.

What Opposition claims

Initially, the Opposition Congress, unlike the BJP and IUML, who immediately alleged huge corruption, treaded carefully, but subsequently, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan openly criticised the government for preparing an “illogical estimate” that could jeopardise the possibility of getting assistance from the Centre.

“Is this how we are supposed to submit a memorandum to the central government? It should be done following SDRF norms. Many of the points in the memorandum have no connection with SDRF norms. Moreover, the figures are not aligned with common sense. I do not think even a clerk with basic intelligence in the secretariat would prepare this,” claimed Satheesan.

The BJP alleged that the state government was “looting in the guise of disaster response”. “Seva Bharati disposed of 49 bodies without claiming a single rupee, but the government is claiming Rs 75,000 each for 359 bodies or body parts. Volunteers from various parties and organizations worked hard in the relief activities without taking any money,” said BJP state president K Surendran.

Why figures look “inflated”

However, Dr Thomas Issac, former finance minister and CPI(M) central committee member, clarified why the figures look “inflated”. “Whether it is the LDF in power or the UDF, the method of calculating disaster estimates remains the same. The SDRF guidelines clearly specify the allowable estimated expenditure for each category. According to these norms, the total allowable expense across 10 categories is Rs 214 crore,” he said.

However, the state’s estimated loss stands at Rs 524 crore, he explained. “The main reason for the difference between these two figures is that, under the SDRF guidelines, only Rs 1.2 lakh is allocated for house construction, while Kerala intends to build houses worth Rs 15 lakh. If this category is adjusted, the difference between the two estimates will come down to Rs 90 crore, Dr Issac elaborated.

“To those who think these are inflated figures, let me remind you — the loss in 2018 was over Rs 30,000 crore, and we sought Rs 6,000 crore from the central government. They sanctioned Rs 2,914 crore, from which they deducted expenses like Air Force charges and the cost of rice,” he added.

KSDMA’s response

The KSDMA, the agency that prepared the memorandum, has a response to the allegations.

“Can the state government ask the Centre to assume that burial land and labour will be provided for free? No. As a professional agency, we must project the expected costs. The estimates are not exaggerated; these include the maximum possible costs considering various potential scenarios,” explained Dr Sekhar L Kuriakose, member secretary of KSDMA.

“This is how a professional agency scientifically prepares a memorandum. We can only claim the actual costs if and when the allocation is approved,” he added.