The Kerala High Court on Friday issued a sharp rebuke to both the central and state governments over the opaque management of disaster relief funds following the devastating landslides in Wayanad this July. The bench, composed of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohammed Nias C.P., demanded the presence of the State Disaster Management Authority’s Finance Officer to provide a detailed account of the funds on Saturday.
The court’s inquiry focuses on several critical points: the total funds needed for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the landslide-affected areas, the financial aid provided by the Centre, the status of the relief funds prior to the disaster, and the utilization of these funds post-disaster. These questions arose during a hearing initiated by the court itself, aimed at enhancing the prevention and management of natural disasters in Kerala.
This legal scrutiny follows the central government’s declaration two weeks prior, stating that a high-level committee had sanctioned approximately Rs 153 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for Wayanad’s relief efforts. However, the submission by the Kerala government, requesting Rs 2,219 crore for recovery efforts only on November 13, was noted as still under review.
The state’s response to the Centre’s claims has been fraught with tension. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticized the central government’s statement as “misleading,” arguing that the Rs 153 crore was merely a part of routine financial allocations bound by stringent guidelines, and thus not applicable to disaster rehabilitation in Wayanad. “This means not a penny has been given as assistance to the state as help,” Vijayan asserted.
The political atmosphere in Wayanad has been charged, with both the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF organizing hartals to protest the perceived shortfall in central financial assistance for rehabilitation efforts. The High Court condemned these protests as “irresponsible,” questioning their efficacy beyond exacerbating the suffering of the already distressed populace.
