Wayanad landslides: No justification for denial of funds by Centre, says Kerala Finance Minister

K.N. Balagopal says it is ‘extremely discriminatory’ on the part of Centre to deny additional funds to Kerala to cover expenses of rehabilitation process in landslide-hit Wayanad

Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Friday (November 15, 2024) said it was “extremely discriminatory” on the part of the Central government to deny additional funds to Kerala to cover the expenses of the rehabilitation process in landslide-hit Wayanad.

The Centre’s stand reflects “extreme prejudice” which has no justification, he said.

On Thursday (November 14, 2024), Nityananda Rai, Union Minister for State for Home Affairs, had informed K.V. Thomas, the Special Representative for Kerala in New Delhi, that sufficient funds were available in the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for the relief operations, and that there was no provision to declare any calamity as a national disaster under the prevailing SDRF/NDRF guidelines.

Mr. Balagopal said the Centre should explain the reason for its “vindictive attitude towards Keralites.” The situation is such that the Centre needs to be reminded on a daily basis that Kerala is part of India, he said.

The July 30 Wayanad landslides had claimed more than 400 lives. Kerala was being denied assistance when the Centre had reserved huge allocations for States that had experienced calamities of a much lesser degree, he pointed out.

It was expected that the Centre would announce a special package for Wayanad following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the district in August. Although Kerala had subsequently sent multiple reminders to the Centre, there had been no word from the latter regarding the special assistance or treating the calamity as a national disaster.

Mr. Balagopal said the Centre has now officially made its stand clear months after the disaster. “The Narendra Modi government is ignoring federal values that form the underpinning of Centre-State relations,” he said.

The Centre’s decision was “politically motivated” and should be viewed against the backdrop of the ongoing tussle over fiscal federalism and equitable sharing of tax revenues, he added.

He also called for a united stand by the people against the decision.

Published - November 15, 2024 01:54 pm IST