The ministry in a letter has allegedly asked the state government to pay ₹132.61 crore for rescue operations conducted across the state since 2006, including ₹13.65 crore for Wayanad alone.
Published Dec 14, 2024 | 10:23 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 14, 2024 | 10:23 AM
An aerial view of landslides-ravaged area in Wayanad.
Amid growing discontent in Kerala over the Union Government’s delay in announcing a special relief package for landslide-affected areas in Wayanad, an alleged directive from the Defence Ministry has sparked outrage.
The ministry in a letter has allegedly demanded the state government pay ₹132.61 crore for rescue operations conducted across the state since 2006, including ₹13.65 crore for Wayanad alone.
A directive in this regard is said to have been sent to V Venu when he was the Chief Secretary of the state. He completed his tenure in September. The demand is being criticized as insensitive, as Kerala has been pressing for urgent central assistance to rehabilitate disaster-hit regions like Wayanad.
According to a TNIE report, the bill was sent by IAF for the airlifting and rescue activities conducted by the force during the landslide. The first day’s expense, on 30 August, was ₹8.91 crore.
Critics view the move as akin to “rubbing salt on the wound.”
While there are views which justify the demand as payment for services rendered, including disaster management and rescue operations, the Kerala government and its Revenue Department are yet to respond to the directive.
For a state which is already grappling with severe financial challenges, the demand for payment has raised questions about how it will address this unexpected burden. The state has earlier paid more than ₹100 crores for rescue operations during the 2018 floods.
In November, the LDF and UDF in Kerala jointly organised a hartal in the Wayanad district in the state in response to the alleged lack of adequate support for the victims of the landslide disaster at Chooralmala and Mundakkai.
Earlier, Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal and state Congress President K Sudhakaran had condemned the Union government’s refusal to declare the landslides a national disaster and termed the action discriminatory and politically motivated.
Balagopal criticised the Union government’s stance as “gross injustice” toward Kerala, accusing it of a calculated disregard for Malayalis.
Congress candidate in the recently polled Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said the Union government’s action was an injustice to those who suffered unimaginable loss.
Meanwhile, during a hearing in the Kerala High Court regarding the landslides, the lawyer representing the Union government said the High-Level Committee meeting to categorise the disaster had not happened yet and that a decision would be taken soon.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
