New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led central government will not declare the Wayanad landslide disaster as a national disaster, it said, responding to a letter from Kerala's representative in New Delhi, KV Thomas.
Announcing this, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the Centre cannot declare the devasting and deadly landslide as per the SDRF and NDRF criteria. He pointed out that as per the Accounts General, the State Disaster Response Fund has Rs 394 crore left.
After the Centre's announcement, uncertainty continues regarding further assistance from it for the rehabilitation of the affected.
Even after three months of the Wayanad disaster, the state has not received a clear outline of the Centre's assistance. This is the first time that central assistance has been delayed so much in a major disaster. Earlier, the central government had clarified in the High Court that a high-level committee would soon decide on the category in which the Wayanad disaster falls. It has informed the High Court that it will take a decision on this within two weeks. The court had raised questions with the government in this regard. The government was responding to the court's question on the amicus curiae report that the Wayanad disaster should be declared a very severe disaster.
Now, the Central government has announced that the Wayanad disaster cannot be declared a national disaster.