Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and requested him to expedite the process of giving financial assistance to the State which faced unprecedented floods recently.
Mr. Vijayan briefed Mr. Singh about the prevailing situation in Kerala and the steps taken by his government to bring back normalcy.
Visit by Central team
Last week, an inter-Ministerial team, headed by a Special Secretary of the Home Ministry, had gone around the State for five days to assess the damage caused by the recent floods. The team visited Kerala after the State government had sent a detailed memorandum seeking ₹4,700 crore as compensation for the damage caused by the rain and floods, considered to be the worst in a century.
At least 488 people had died in the floods this monsoon, which hit 12 districts of the State. The memorandum comprised details about the loss of human lives, properties, infrastructure and crops, an official said.
In case of any natural calamity beyond the coping capacity of a State, the State government submits a detailed memorandum indicating sector-wise details of damage and requirement of funds for relief operations of immediate nature. Accordingly, the Kerala government sent the memorandum.
As per the existing guidelines, an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visits the State for on-the-spot assessment of damage and additional requirement of funds.
The IMCT report is considered by a subcommittee of the National Executive Committee (SC-NEC) headed by the Union Home Secretary in conformity with the norms and then by a high-level committee chaired by the Home Minister for approving the quantum of additional assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund.
On August 21, the Central government had released ₹600 crore to the flood-hit State as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (₹500 crore) and Home Minister Rajnath Singh (₹100 crore) during their visits to the State.
This was in addition to the ₹562.45-crore already made available in the State Disaster Relief Fund.
