Kerala High Court Building in Ernakulam. | Photo Credit: H Vibhu
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (Dec 18, 2024) asked the Center whether it could release around Rs 120 crore out of the ₹132 crore demanded as airlift charges for rescue operations carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the state since 2006. .
Justice AK Jaishankaran Nambiar and S. Iswaran’s bench said that if ₹120 crore is released in this way, the amount can be immediately used for the rehabilitation of landslide victims in Wayanad. The bench asked the Center to temporarily release ₹120 crore and consider relaxing the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) / State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms so that the funds can be used for rehabilitation purposes.
“This is for a noble cause, so the Central government should not have any problem,” the court said and listed the case on January 10, 2025 to await the Centre’s response on this aspect.
During the hearing, the bench also said that sending a bill of Rs 132 crore as airlift charges in October after the state sought financial assistance from the Center for the rehabilitation of Wayanad was a “psychological ploy”.
“Remove all these psychological things,” said the bench.
The defense ministry has raised a demand of Rs 132 crore from the Kerala government following the rescue operations carried out by the IAF in the state since 2006 and the devastating landslides that wiped out three villages in Wayanad district.
A letter dated October 22, 2024 – with subject – Settlement of outstanding airlift charges – was received by the office of the then Chief Secretary of the state V. Venu on November 2, 2024, and the tabular data of the bill included “not clear”. by the Government of Kerala for the rescue operations carried out by the IAF.
A major chunk of the outstanding bills, over ₹ 100 crore, is reportedly for rescue operations during the 2018 floods that devastated the state. This includes bills of over ₹ 13 crore for IAF operations following a July 30 landslide that wiped out three villages in Wayanad district.
The High Court on Wednesday (December 18) took stock of the existing commitments with the state government and said that around ₹ 61 crore is already in the SDRF account and if ₹ 120 crore is released, there will be ₹ 180 crore for immediate use for rehabilitation. of landslide victims in Wayanad.
The counsel for the Center said that the permission of the Central Government was necessary to temporarily release ₹ 120 crore and the NDRF/SDRF norms should be relaxed to enable the Central Government to utilize ₹ 180 crore for rehabilitation.
The bench, then, asked the Center to consider giving concessions to the state government to enable it to utilize the above funds.
The court was hearing a petition initiated by it seeking prevention and management of natural disasters in the state after landslides claimed three villages in Wayanad district and claimed more than 200 lives.
The July 30 landslide in Kerala destroyed large parts of three villages – Punchirimattam, Churalmala and Mundakkai – along with sections of Attamala in Wayanad. According to the state government, the disaster killed 231 people.
published – Dec 18, 2024 01:29 pm IST