Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Centre will release additional funds from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per norms, over and above the ₹600 crore released as “an advance assistance.”
This was conveyed by the Prime Minister to Governor P. Sathasivam at a meeting in Delhi on Saturday. A Raj Bhavan statement on Sunday said Mr. Sathasivam had briefed the Prime Minister about the gravity of the post-flood situation in Kerala.
Mr. Modi said he had been monitoring the situation on a daily basis since his visit to the State on August 17 and 18. The Centre had provided aid and relief materials without any reservation to the State on a timely manner. On his instructions, the National Crisis Management Committee too had monitored and coordinated rescue and relief operations through daily meetings ever since the calamity struck.
Apart from highlighting the Central government’s involvement in the rescue and relief operations, Mr. Modi referred to the visit of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team from August 7 to 12 to assess the damage of the first spell of floods consequent to the State government’s interim memorandum, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju’s visit on July 21 and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s tour on August 12 to substantiate his point about Central government’s monitoring of the flood situation.
Mr. Modi said he was expecting the State government to submit an additional memorandum on the damages caused by the second spell of floods in the State once the rescue efforts were over. The ₹600 crore advance was paid pending assessment by the Centre, in addition to the ₹562.45 crore given to the State Disaster Response Fund.
Mr. Sathasivam also met and apprised Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the law and order situation and more importantly, the pace of the relief measures in the State.