THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hours after the Centre ignored Kerala’s claim for natural calamity relief announced for seven states from the National Disaster Relief Fund, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sought Rs 205 crore from the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) for the rice distributed in the state from the corporation during the flood in 2018.
The FCI communicated to the KSDMA on Monday through a mail stating that it had distributed 89,000 tonnes of rice in the state when the state was reeling under the flood. However, KSDMA authorities replied to FCI that the authority has no stake in paying the bill which has to be sent directly to the state government.
Shekhar Lukose Kuriakose, KSDMA member secretary, told TNIE that he received the mail from FCI and he had effectively communicated to FCI that KSDMA was not the authority to repay the fund. “ I received the mail on Monday and KSDMA was told to pay the bill. However, I have replied to FCI to communicate directly with the government. KSDMA had only played a facilitator’s role,” Shekhar said.
EARLIER, the Centre had sought Rs 290.74 crore from the state in compensation for operating the aircraft that helped in rescue and relief operations during the flood in August 2018. But Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the Centre asking it to rethink on its demand for the repayment of the flood relief fund. On Monday, the high-level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah chose seven states, including four BJP-ruled ones -- Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tripura and Assam -- for the payment of flood relief. But Kerala has not received any response from the Union government even after repeated requests.
The Centre had earlier released an interim financial aid of Rs 3,200 crore to four states, which again did not include Kerala. This interim assistance was given 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. In 2018, the Union government approved Rs 2,500 crore for relief and rehabilitation work in Kerala, three months after the flood-ravaged 14 districts of the state and killed 483 people. The relief amount sanctioned by the Centre is in addition to the Rs 600 crore it had granted as interim relief earlier. It, however, had fallen well short of the Rs 4,800 crore sought by the state government. The decision to exclude Kerala from the list of states receiving calamity-relief funds has come under severe criticism from the state government.
Flood relief and rehabilitation
In 2018, the Union government approved C2,500 crore for relief and rehabilitation work in Kerala, three months after the flood ravaged 14 districts of the state and killed 483 people