NGOs lock horns with government over distribution of the relief materials

A certificate for the clearance of the imported goods will be issued from the Collectorate. 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: NGOs engaged in rescue and relief operations in flood-hit areas locked horns with the state government over the latter’s decision to take over the distribution of the relief materials sourced from foreign countries through the government network over a host of issues, including alleged charges of smuggling.

NGOs claim they are not against the state government decision to distribute the materials through the government network, but the voluntary organisations are bound to keep a record of everything like where it distributed and how many people received the relief materials as part of keeping transparency in its operations. Sadly, the state government has no such effective system. Following this, the NGOs have stopped taking relief materials from foreign countries.

Nuzarath Jahan, chairman of NGO Happy Voice, said, “We have communicated to our partners in Middle East to stop collecting the relief materials after the district administration refused to provide clearance certificate to get the consignment from the airport and distribute them through our network.  

A government order (G.O(Rt) No. 458/2018/DMD dated 22.08.2018, stated the District Collectors of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode have been delegated the authority to accept on behalf of the State government to handle the international relief material received in their respective airports.

A certificate for the clearance of the imported goods will be issued from the Collectorate. Based on this certificate the goods can be cleared from the cargo area and handed over to the district administration. It will be the prerogative of the District Administration to decide where and how the relief material will be distributed as per their assessment.

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