Kerala High Court asks Centre to speed up Wayanad relief funds payment

The Kerala High Court has urged the central government to take immediate steps to aid Wayanad’s recovery following the devastating landslides in July.
A division bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and VM Syamkumar was considering a suo motu case initiated by the court following the landslides in Wayanad on July 30 about disaster prevention and management in the region.
The court sought a response from the Centre regarding the disbursal of relief funds from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for Wayanad.
Addressing Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan, the court stated, “Get some positive action from the central government because we need to get Wayanad back on the rails as soon as possible.”
During a previous hearing, the court had granted the Centre two weeks to update its actions based on a submitted memorandum. The deadline for the Centre’s response is October 18. The court also noted that neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have received significant allocations from the State and National Disaster Management Response Funds, urging for a similar focus on Wayanad.
The Kerala government has already submitted details on land identified for rehabilitating the victims of the landslide, further pushing for timely relief and reconstruction.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had recently said that the state government has requested Rs 219.2 crore as emergency relief assistance, in addition to the central allocation for this year’s State Disaster Response Fund.