Kerala MP moves Supreme Court against Centre’s refusal to allow foreign aid

The Hindu
August 26, 2018.

Centre is turning its back on the State, Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam tells the court.

Rajya Sabha member and former Kerala Minister Binoy Viswam moved the Supreme Court on Saturday, accusing the Centre of “turning its back” on the people of flood-ravaged Kerala. The Centre has neither released sufficient relief funds nor allowed foreign countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) help the State “re-build and return to its past glory,” he said.

Mr. Viswam urged the Supreme Court to wield its extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do “complete justice” and direct the Centre to allow foreign aid for flood relief work and rehabilitation in Kerala.

‘Unwritten policy’

The lawmaker said the Centre had denied foreign aid for Kerala stating an “unwritten policy” said to have been followed since 2004, whereby the country does not accept foreign aid towards disaster funds until it is necessary.

Mr. Viswam’s petition contended that this policy violated the fundamental rights of the people of Kerala and was inconsistent with the Disaster Management Act, 2005, National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009 and National Disaster Management Plan, 2016. The MP pointed out that Kerala had suffered losses worth ₹21,000 crore, and about 10,000 km of road network were destroyed by the floods.

The State had requested the Centre to release ₹1,200 crore for immediate relief.

Yet, to its “utter shock and dismay”, the Centre released only ₹100 crore. “This is less than one-tenth of the amount requested by the State government,” Mr. Viswam, represented by advocates Sriram Parakkat and Sarath Janardanan, submitted.

A second request for ₹2,000 crore from the State, following protests, saw the Centre release ₹500 crore, the petition said. Other States have donated ₹200 crore and NRIs too have donated for the flood relief, he said.

Funds not enough

“But the funds received as on date are not enough to carry on the rehabilitation work and to rebuild Kerala… It is estimated that Kerala will take many years to be back into the path of glory again,” Mr. Viswam said.

On the other hand, he said, the UAE agreed to donate because of “special bonding” Kerala has with the Arab world. UAE has a large expatriate community from Kerala.

“Kerala is home to many NRIs who are working in various parts of the world including the Arab nations and have contributed significantly in the growth of those countries,” Mr. Viswam said.

He said, besides UAE, Qatar has agreed to contribute ₹35 crore, Maldives ₹35 lakh and some other countries like Thailand have also offered help to the disaster-hit State. Even the United Nations has offered help.

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