Kerala High Court Asks Centre To Take "Positive Action" In Releasing Relief Fund For Wayanad

A week after the Kerala High Court asked the Union Government to respond to a statement where the Kerala government claimed that no amount has been released from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the aid of Wayanad landslide victims, the Court on Thursday directed the central government to come up with some “positive action” to release the fund from NDRF and PMNRF to help the tragedy-hit victims.

Speaking about the aid, the court said that Wayanad needed to be brought back as soon as possible, asking the Additional Solicitor General, A. R. L. Sundaresan, who was present in the court, to use his good offices and get some positive actions from the Center.

Read Also: PM Modi Conducts Aerial Survey Of Landslide-Hit Wayanad

The Kerala cabinet had earlier given in-principle sanction to construct two townships for rehabilitating the people affected, and one of the townships will come up on 66.41 hectares of estate land with plans to divide land plots for house construction in an eco-sensitive manner. The township might include internal roads, social amenities like Anganwadi, a post office, a school, a health clinic, a waste management facility, a community hub, parks, and market infrastructure.

The state government had submitted two parcels of land measuring 65.41 hectares in Vythiri taluk identified for the reconstruction of model townships to accommodate the disaster-affected families.

Read Also: Woman Who Lost Her Family In Wayanad Landslides, Loses Fiance In Accident

Last week, senior advocate Rajith Thampan, the amicus curiae, submitted that the Center has not awarded any grant or amount that Prime Minister Modi promised during his visit to the affected place, despite the lapse of more than 57 days of the disaster. The amicus curiae highlighted that neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana had been allocated a significant amount from the NDRF.

According to a study by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Wayanad landslides was the biggest in India’s recorded history, devastating villages and killing more than 400 people. The landslides resulted in a debris flow of nearly six million cubic metres stretching eight kilometres downhill.