Wayanad landslide: Centre approves Rs 153 cr, assistance for IAF bills & debris clearance

The Centre has approved Rs 153.467 crore as aid for instant calamity and assistance for actual airbills raised by the Indian Air Force for airdropping of essential supplies, rescue and debris clearance during Wayanad landslide.

In a statement filed in the High Court, the Centre has informed that the report of the Inter-Ministerial central team which visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessment was considered by the Sub Committee of National Executive Committee (SC-NEC) headed by Home Secretary in its meeting held on October 1.

The recommendations of SC-NEC were placed before the High-Level Committee (HLC), which has approved release of Rs.153.467 crore from NDRF, subject to adjustment of 50 per cent of balance available in the SDRF account for the instant calamity, air bills for airdropping of essential supplies and rescue, as per actual, based on the bills raised by the IAF and assistance for the clearance of debris, subject to actual utilization of heavy equipment/machinery for clearing debris from the affected areas within the vicinity of Meppadi Grama Panchayat.

The Centre also told the Court that the state government submitted the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) following the Wayanad landslide, which estimated a requirement of Rs 2,219.033 crore for Recovery & Reconstruction on November 13. The Centre submitted that the proposal of the Government of Kerala is being considered as per the guidelines on the Constitution and Administration of Recovery & Reconstruction Funding Window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)/ State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and further necessary action will be taken in accordance with the aforementioned guidelines issued by the Central Government.

The Centre had earlier told the HC that PDNA along with detailed memorandum were still being awaited from Kerala. In case of severe disasters and for additional financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the state governments have to conduct a PDNA, the centre had informed the HC.

KSDMA had then admitted that PDNA was not ready but also gave a reason. "The state is finalising the PDNA which is a very recent introduction to the norms of assistance. In fact, the guidelines itself came into force on August 14, only after the occurrence of the Meppadi landslide. Therefore, the state had to train its team to prepare PDNA and the report," KSDMA said in the statement.