Kerala CM asks MPs to raise their voice in Parliament against lack of Central aid for Wayanad

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 21 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday lashed out at the BJP-led Central government for repeatedly delaying financial assistance to the landslide-ravaged Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad district.

Addressing the pre-parliamentary conference of MPs from Kerala, along with his Cabinet colleagues here, Vijayan requested the members to raise their voice in Parliament against the Centre for delaying funds for the state.

He said that despite repeated requests and the submission of demands in the required format, the Centre has not yet declared the disaster as one of severe nature, thus preventing the state from seeking international assistance and also from accessing the Centre's disaster relief pool.

Vijayan said that declaring the Wayanad tragedy a disaster of severe nature would have provided a legal basis for the banks to write off the loans of those affected by the disaster.

He said the Kerala government had submitted its demand in the required format within 100 days of the disaster, but the state had received no aid.

"The Kerala government submitted a memorandum, detailing the losses incurred in the disaster and the demand for financial assistance under the terms of the National Disaster Relief Fund, which Kerala was legitimately entitled to raise, to the Central Government on August 17. We requested an initial aid of Rs 1,202 crore, outlining the expected expenses and possible over-expenditures," the CM said.

He added that even after 100 days following the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, three months after submitting the memorandum, and the visit of the Central team, Kerala had still not received any assistance.

"The Centre has given financial aid to many states even without them requesting it. Kerala has not received a single penny as special financial aid," the CM said.

He also urged the MPs from Kerala to come forward to help, suggesting that each of them could allocate Rs 25 lakh from their MP funds, as Kerala has declared the disaster a 'calamity of severe nature.' Speaking to the media after the conference, UDF MP N K Premachandran said the Central government had been clinging to technicalities and delaying aid to the victims of the disaster.

"We are going to work beyond our political differences and will raise the demands in the interest of the state, both in Parliament and outside," Premachandran said.

He said the chief minister had clearly presented the status of the case to the MPs, and they are also of the opinion that the Central government has shown gross injustice to the state by not providing financial aid, even after four months since the disaster.

The Kollam MP added that every member present at the conference raised their voices unanimously against the Centre's neglect of the state's demands.

He also mentioned that the conference discussed various developmental issues and the problems faced by MPs in carrying out developmental activities in their constituencies.

"Overall, it was a productive discussion, and we have agreed to work together on many such issues," Premachandran said.

Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan, who is a member of the ministerial team that coordinated the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Wayanad, said that the Kerala government had submitted the demands on time and that the allegations from the BJP, claiming the financial aid was delayed because the state delayed the submission of the Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA), are far from the truth.

"There was no such precedent in any disaster. The demand for a PDNA was raised only on August 13 and it took us time to prepare it. This was an unprecedented requirement. But we had given all the required memorandums soon after the disaster," Rajan said.

He said that under the current law, Kerala cannot exclusively use the entire amount in the SDRF for landslide rehabilitation.

"As per the law, what is mandated as relief for a disaster under the SDRF is not sufficient for landslide relief. If the Central government orders that we can set aside the current rules and consider the entire amount in the SDRF as an advance for rehabilitation in Wayanad, the state government can proceed with that," Rajan said.

He explained that the SDRF is used for compensation and relief for all disasters, regardless of their scale.

The minister said all the MPs who participated in the conference have agreed to the demands of Kerala and have decided to raise their voices in the interest of the people of Mundakkai and Chooralmala. PTI