The Central government on Friday told the Kerala High Court that it is in the process of assessing what funds need to be released to Kerala from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to aid efforts combat the damage left behind by the devastating Wayanad landslides. [In Re: Prevention and Management of Natural Disasters in Kerala].
The Centre's counsel suggested that the State could use disaster relief funds already available with it under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for now.
The submission was made before a Bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Syam Kumar VM which has been hearing a suo motu case initiated to monitor disaster relief efforts in Wayanad and connected issues.
The Bench had earlier expressed concern over the delay by the Central government in disbursing funds from NDRF and the Prime Minister Relief Fund to Kerala.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ARL Sundaresan submitted today that an amount of ₹388 crores was already available under the Kerala's SDRF for the year 2024-24 (of which the Central government had allotted 291.2 crores, and of which the State's contribution is ₹96.8 crore) for immediate use.
He added that the SDRF fund, which does not lapse, currently holds another ₹394 crores in surplus from previous allocations, bringing the total available funds under SDRF to about ₹782.9 crores.
Additional funds from the NDRF for immediate relief can only be released after an assessment by a high-level committee, he said.
"Over ₹700 crores are available in funds, and ₹388 crores have been allocated to Kerala this year (2024-24). Funds for immediate needs can be drawn from National Disaster Relief Fund which will only be released after a thorough assessment," ASG Sundaresan submitted.
With respect to release of funds from NDRF, the ASG said that an inter-ministerial central team has conducted a study and submitted a report.
The recommendations of this report are now under review by a high-level committee. Once this assessment is over, additional amounts from the NDRF can be disbursed, the ASG said.
Amicus Curiae Ranjith Thampan, however, pointed out that NDRF relief funds have earlier been released without awaiting any final assessment to other States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana. He requested that the funds for Kerala should also be released without waiting for such assessment.
The amicus also drew the Court's attention to several projects such as PMCARES and the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), which had facilitated the construction of relief shelters in places like Calicut. Such aid could be extended in Wayanad as well, he suggested.
The amicus added that Kerala required urgent attention, particularly in light of the State’s vulnerability to floods and landslides.
The Court eventually directed the State and the Amicus Curiae to file their responses the Centre's statement on the disbursal of funds to Kerala by October 25, when the case will be heard next.
The Court today also stressed on the need to conduct comprehensive zonal studies to identify flood and landslide-prone areas of the State.
Commenting on this issue, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup said that laws made need to be amended to minimise construction in disaster prone areas.
"We may need to amend laws regarding construction—high-rise buildings, materials used, and prohibiting licenses in vulnerable areas," he said.
"Nature will not wait for laws to be amended. You can pass executive orders. Only minimal activities should be permitted until the zonation study is completed. Zonation study must be expanded to all hill stations, not just Wayanad," Justice Nambiar replied.
[Read Order]