Centre Ignores Kerala For Flood Relief Despite 121 People Getting Killed & Loss Worth Rs 40K Cr

The Narendra Modi-led government has approved additional central assistance of Rs 5908.56 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to seven states which had experienced heavy flooding and losses in 2019.

According to the decision taken at a meeting of a high-level committee (HLC) chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam will receive an additional aid of Rs 616.63 crore, Himachal Pradesh Rs 284.93 crore, Karnataka Rs 1869.85 crore, Madhya Pradesh Rs 1749.73 crore, Maharashtra Rs 956.93 crore, Tripura Rs 63.32 and Uttar Pradesh will be given Rs 367.17 crore.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was present in the meeting, along with senior officers of the ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Agriculture and NITI Aayog.

This is in addition to the interim relief of Rs 3,200 crore to four states, Rs 1,200 crore to Karnataka, Rs 1,000 crore to Madhya Pradesh, Rs 600 crore to Maharashtra and Rs 400 crore to Bihar.

Significantly missing out from the list of states that have been granted financial aid is Kerala. The state which had suffered the second flooding in as many years had sought the aid of Rs 2101 crore from the Center. The Kerala Government had in September sent a letter detailing the loses the state suffered and seeking financial aid from the Center.

This is not the first time the Modi government has been accused of turning its back on the left-ruled state. Even in 2018, when the state was hit by the worst flooding in over a century the Modi government was accused of not allowing the state to receive financial aid from UAE which pledged an amount to the tune of Rs 700 crore and several other countries around the world.

The Modi government was also accused of denying permission to Kerala minister to go abroad to collect funds for flood relief. In 2018 the Centre had provided initial assistance of Rs 600 crore to Kerala and later another Rs 3,048 crore was allocated to the state ad additional assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

Kerala had sought Rs 4,700 crore as compensation from the central government for the damage caused by the floods, which was termed as the worst in a century. At least 488 people died in the state due to the rains and floods this monsoon, which hit 14 districts of the state.

Calling the decision unfortunate, Kerala Finance Minister Dr. TM Thomas Isaac said state leadership of the BJP should explain the Modi government's vindictive attitude towards Kerala.