THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: More than 100 days after the Chooralmala-Mundakai landslides in Wayanad claimed 254 lives and left 128 missing, the Union and state governments and the three political fronts are engaged in a bitter dispute over whether it is a national disaster and whether the state government has asked for relief based on a non-existing clause in the Disaster Relief Fund.
The controversy began when Union Minister of State Nityananda Rai gave a reply to state government’s special envoy K V Thomas, turning down the latter’s request to declare the Wayanad landslide as a national disaster. “Under the existing guidelines of SDRF/NDRF, there is no provision to declare any calamity as a national disaster,” said the response.
However, contrary to the Union minister’s claim, the state has not requested the Centre to declare it as a national disaster, according to the state’s memorandum submitted to the Home Ministry on August 17. “We have not requested the Union government to consider the disaster as national disaster,” Revenue Minister K Rajan told TNIE.
“It was in the letter sent by K V Thomas that he referred to it as a national disaster. The state has not made any such demand. Our demand was based on three points. First, we wanted the disaster to be included in L3 category - to declare it as a disaster of a severe nature as the state could not handle the rehabilitation. If it is included in L3, the state can avail national and international aid.
Second, we requested the centre to waive off loans of the disaster-affected people using the power under national disaster management authority. Third, the state asked the Centre to issue additional financial aid,” he said. It was further pointed out that the word ‘national disaster’ was used only till the tenure of the 10th Financial Commission.
The state government alleged that the Union minister’s reply was silent on these demands. The officials in the revenue department also said that the details about the Central share in the SDRF are irrelevant as far as Wayanad rehabilitation package is concerned.
According to the official data in the memorandum, a copy of which is with the TNIE, the estimated loss in the disaster is Rs 1,202 crore. The state has requested Rs 2,262 crore for the rehabilitation package. The memorandum includes a rough cost of the resilient township with community micro irrigation, dairy development, PWD, commercial and industrial establishments, police stations and agricultural development schemes.
According to revenue officials, the SDRF / NDRF funds cannot be used for rehabilitation in Wayanad. “The Centre has allocated its share of SDRF on two occasions in 2024-25,” a senior revenue officer told TNIE.
“However, it is of no use to the state in rehabilitating Wayanad victims as there are strict norms for utilising the same. These funds are given to all states irrespective of any disaster and it did not lapse. Funds from SDRF can be given for different purposes - right from house destruction at Parassala to firework damage at Neeleswaram. It is also used to build flood-affected roads or to give compensation for people who died in natural disasters. For a 1 km flood road only Rs 75,000 will be allocated and for destruction of houses Rs 1.3 lakh is allowed,” he said.
Survivors with no relatives
10 Women
5 Male
6 Children under 18 yrs age
Though it’s being widely used, currently the term ‘National Disaster’ does not exist in disaster-related guidelines. ‘Disaster of severe nature’ is the usage now. The state wants the Centre to include Wayanad under this category.
