The Opposition on Wednesday stormed out of the Assembly after locking horns with the ruling front in a protracted and often politically charged debate over the efficacy of the government’s flood relief programme.
Congress legislator V.D. Satheeshan, who moved an adjournment motion to discuss the pressing issue, said the government had failed to deliver assistance to the flood-displaced masses and, consequently, forced thousands to subsist on the borderline of poverty.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s much-vaunted visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to raise ₹300 crore had come to nought. “Hundred days have elapsed since Kerala succumbed to the floods. The government has offered only empty promises. Even banks have given no loan relief to the flood affected. They have merely adjusted meagre insurance payments against mortgage repayments,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan reeled off facts and figures and reiterated the government’s commitment to mitigate the suffering of the flood affected. He said the Centre had let down Kerala at a time of dire need. It’s assistance was a sparse ₹600 crore, of which Kerala was required to return ₹300 crore to pay for the foodgrains and use of military helicopters for relief and rescue operations.
The Chief Minister denied he had jumped the gun by announcing the UAE’s promise to give the State ₹700 crore as flood relief. He had taken businessman M.A. Yusuf Ali’s word for it. The Prime Minister confirmed the offer by thanking the UAE president in a tweet. However, the Centre turned down the offer of foreign aid inexplicably and denied Kerala Ministers the opportunity to raise funds from the Malayali diaspora.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the government had no clear-cut flood mitigation plan. The proposal to raise flood relief funds through crowdsourcing was a quixotic project like Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Flood relief work in the State is in stasis due to the inefficiency of the State and the apathy of the Centre. “Even V.S. Achuthanandan’s aged sister-in-law had to trudge in and out of the village office to get the ₹10,000 aid promised to those whose houses were swamped by floodwaters,” he said.
The House rejected the motion by voice vote.
