Wayanad landslides cannot be declared national disaster, says Centre

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has announced that the landslides, that claimed more than 400 lives in Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions in Wayanad, cannot be declared a national disaster. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai clarified that the current norms are proving a hindrance to the national disaster status.

The minister clarified this in his reply to KV Thomas, the Special Representative of the Government of Kerala in New Delhi. KV Thomas had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the Wayanad disaster be declared a national disaster.

The Centre in its clarification said that the onus of the reparation works lies with the state government. The Union Minister's letter states that lightning flood is one of the 12 disasters notified under the SDRF rules and that the state government is responsible for providing financial assistance to the victims.

Currently, there are no criteria for declaring a calamity as a national calamity in the SDRF and NDRF regulations. The state has been allocated Rs 388 crore for the current financial year for SDRF activities. Rs 291 crore from this will come from the central government coffers. The first instalment of Rs 145 crore was paid to the state government on August 31. As of April 2024, there is a balance of Rs 394 crore in the SDRF fund of the state government.

The minister of home affairs said Kerala had sufficient financial funds to handle the disaster reparation works.