THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has sought a financial aid of Rs 2,000 crore from the Union government for the Wayanad rehabilitation package under the Disaster Management Act.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who reached New Delhi on Monday, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday at 10.30am.
The CM is expected to personally appeal to the PM for a favourable consideration of the state’s request. He has already submitted to the PM a preliminary report of losses suffered and the amount expected to rebuild the region and people’s lives. “As instructed by the Union government, the state had submitted an additional, detailed memorandum to the disaster management division in the home ministry for financial aid to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. We had asked the Centre to declare Wayanad landslide as an L3-level disaster according to National Disaster Management Plan,” Revenue Minister K Rajan told TNIE.
Under the National Disaster Response Plan, an L3-level situation arises when large-scale disasters have a noticeable impact on a number of states and when the state and district authorities are overwhelmed and require central assistance in reinstating the machinery as well as in carrying out rescue and relief operations. The revenue minister said the loss in the twin landslides at Chooralmala and Mundakkai has been estimated at `1,200 crore.
“We have submitted a detailed list of our needs and the estimated costs, for instance to remove debris. The state has also sought central assistance in disbursing house rent to families. Now, we have decided to give `300 as rent to two individuals of a family to live in rented homes. The state wants the Centre to include it in the financial relief and also to extend the facility to another three months. A total of 194 houses were completely destroyed in the landslide,” he said.
Apart from that, the state government has sought financial aid for a ‘labour skill centre’ to be set up in the region. It had also asked the Centre to establish new rain gauge stations in the region and to strengthen the existing ones.
Chief Secretary V Venu was noticeably absent during CM’s Delhi visit. It is learnt that, this time, the CM would be accompanied to the Prime Minister’s Office by the Resident Commissioner of Kerala House, Ajit Kumar. He had worked in the PMO for seven years as a deputy secretary.
On Monday, Pinarayi visited CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri, who has been hospitalised in AIIMS.