THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the Indian Air Force (IAF) demanding that Kerala pay Rs 113.69 crore for the rescue operations carried out by the force during the 2018 flood, the state government has approached the Centre with a request to exempt it from paying the amount. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sent a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh citing the state’s fragile economic situation and meagre assistance it received from the National Disaster Response Fund. Recently, the state received an airbill of Rs 113,69,34,899 from the IAF in connection with the rescue operations.
In his letter, Pinarayi said the state was struck by a cyclone in 2017 and flood in 2018, causing immense damage to life and property. The two calamities also had an impact on the state’s financial situation, which was already in a fragile condition.
As per the United Nations’ Post Disaster Needs Assessment, the state needs at least Rs 31,000 crore for post-flood restoration. “However, the additional assistance that the state got from NDRF was only a meagre Rs 2904.85 crore,” he said.
The state has already launched a Rebuild Kerala initiative to ensure better standards of living to all sections of society. The government is in need of more resources for the purpose. In such a scenario it’s difficult to pay such a huge amount from the State Disaster Response Fund to the IAF, Pinarayi said, while requesting the Centre to exempt Kerala from paying the same.
According to reports, the IAF sent a letter to the state Chief Secretary asking the state to pay the amount for various expenditure.
As per a recent statement from the Centre, the IAF had carried out 517 sorties and airlifted 3,787 people, in addition to 634 helicopter sorties winching 584 people. The statement said that a bill was sent to the state in February in this regard.
Last year, the chief minister had informed the state assembly that the Union Government had sought around Rs 290 crore for aircraft support during the flood.