Kerala floods: God's Own Country seeks Rs 4,700 crore as compensation

Battered by the century’s worst floods, the Kerala government on Thursday sought Rs 4,700 crore as compensation from the central government for the damage caused by the monsoon fury, officials said.

The massive floods in Kerala, which hit 14 districts of the state, since the onset of the Southwest monsoon on May 29 had left over 491 people dead and caused untold loss across the state.

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“The Kerala government has sent a memorandum to the Home Ministry giving details about the loss of human life, properties, infrastructure and crops and sought about Rs 4,700 crore as compensation,” a senior government official said.

The official added that, “In case of any natural calamity beyond the coping capacity of a state, the state government submits a detailed memorandum indicating sector-wise details of damage and requirement of funds for relief operations of immediate nature. Accordingly, the Kerala government sent the memorandum”.

According to the guidelines, the centre provides its allocations to State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) of each state in advance in two installments. In case of any natural calamity, the state meets the expenditure of relief and rescue from the State Disaster Response Fund already available at its disposal.

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On August 21, the Centre had released Rs 600 crore to flood-ravaged Kerala as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Rs 500 crore) and Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Rs 100 crore) during their visits to God’s Own Country, which was in addition to Rs 562.45 crore already made available in State Disaster Relief Fund of the state.

(With PTI inputs)