The ruling CPI-M-led LDF and the Opposition Congress-led UDF in Kerala called for a hartal in the Wayanad district on Tuesday
Photo: ANI
The ruling CPI-M-led LDF and the Opposition Congress-led UDF in Kerala called for a hartal in the Wayanad district on Tuesday, November 19, against the Centre’s inaction in declaring the Wayanad landslides a national disaster and denial of financial assistance to the state for the rehabilitation of the affected people.
While the LDF announced the hartal on November 19 against the Central government’s inaction, the UDF declared the hartal against the alleged apathy towards the survivors of the Wayanad disaster of the Central and state governments.
The Central government, earlier this week, informed the Kerala government that there was no provision to declare any calamity ‘national disaster’. Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, made this clarification in response to a request from Prof. K V Thomas, Kerala’s Special Officer in Delhi, who had written to the prime minister seeking the national disaster declaration.
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In his reply, the Union Minister explained that the current SDRF, and NDRF norms do not allow for such a declaration. Rai emphasized that the primary responsibility for managing disaster-related matters lies with the state government.
He also pointed out that flash floods are already listed as one of the 12 notified disasters under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines, which place the onus of financial support on the state.
The Union government, he noted, has already allocated Rs 388 crore to Kerala for SDRF operations in the current financial year. Of this, Rs 291 crore has been provided by the Union Government, with the first installment of Rs 145 crore disbursed on August 31. Additionally, the state’s SDRF fund will have a balance of Rs 394 crore by April 1, 2024, providing Kerala with sufficient resources to manage the ongoing disaster response.
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