Kerala floods: Centre asks state government to pay up Rs 290 crore for rescue operations
New Delhi, Nov 30: Four months after the Kerala floods, the Centre has approved an additional Rs 2,500 crore for relief and rehabilitation work for flood-ravaged Kerala, said reports on Friday. The Centre had earlier sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the same.
The Kerala government had submitted a memorandum demanding Rs 4,800 crore. However, the committee given the task, cleared Rs 3,100 crore including the Rs 600 crore earlier.
The Centre has also asked the state government to pay Rs 290.74 crore as aircraft charge for holding rescue operations during mid-August flood and for supplying ration materials. Making the statement in the Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has a sum of Rs 987.73 crore, of which Rs 586.04 crore has been spent.
Central team to visit Kerala to assess flood damage
According to a preliminary estimate, the loss and damage due to the rain fury was Rs 20,000 crore, but Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said it would be much more. The deluge in the state, the worst in a century, had claimed 483 lives since August 8 besides causing widespread destruction.
At least 488 people died in Kerala due to the rains and floods this monsoon. The large-scale devastation had affected 14 districts in the state.
CWC report says unprecedented rainfall in Kerala caused such a devastating flood
In September, the Centre had also enhanced its contribution in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) from 75 per cent to 90 per cent, with effect from April 1 that will also benefit Kerala. Under the Disaster Management Act 2005, a financial mechanism has been set up by way of National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) at the national level and SDRF at the state level to meet the rescue and relief expenditure during any notified disasters.