Centre promises more financial aid for Kerala

The Centre on Thursday said the Rs 600-crore aid it has extended to Kerala till now was only “advance assistance” and it would give additional funds to the flood-ravaged state.

“Additional funds would be released from NDRF (the National Disaster Response Fund) on assessment of the damages (caused by floods in Kerala) as per laid down procedure,” said a government statement.

The Centre also said the Rs 600 crore-aid was in addition to Rs 562.45 crore already made available in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) of Kerala.

The statement added that the central government provides its allocation to the SDRF in advance in two instalments in order to help a state deal with any natural calamity.

“In case of any natural calamity beyond the coping capacity of a state, the concerned state government submits a detailed memorandum indicating the sector-wise details of damages and requirement of funds for relief operations of immediate nature. On receipt of a memorandum, an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) is deputed by the Central Government for on-the-spot assessment of damages and additional requirement of funds,” the statement clarified on the procedure for further central aid.

The IMCT report is first considered by a committee headed by the home secretary and then by a high-level panel chaired by the home minister for final approval.

The IMCT first visited Kerala between August 7 and 12.

“Since there was a second spell of floods in the state, the State Government has stated that they will submit an additional memorandum on the fresh damages caused by the floods and landslides once rescue efforts are over,” said the statement.

The government statement said in all 40 helicopters, 31 aircraft, 182 rescue teams, 18 medical teams of defence forces, 58 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven companies of central paramilitaries were pressed into service along with over 500 boats and necessary rescue equipments , paving the way for the rescue of over 60,000 people.

First Published: Aug 23, 2018 23:16 IST