Rajnath Singh announces Rs 100 Cr immediate central relief to flood-hit Kerala

Kochi: The Union government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore as immediate assistance to the rain-ravaged Kerala while the state demanded Rs 1,220 crore.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh announced the aid after making a whirlwind tour to some of the flood-affected places on Sunday.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had given him a representation citing rough estimation of damages at Rs 8,316 crore and demanding an interim relief of Rs 1,220 crore.

Promising every help for the state to meet the present situation Mr Singh, however, remained non-committal on declaring it as a national calamity.

Describing the flood situation the worst since the 1924 deluge, he said the Union government had released Rs 80 crore each earlier. He said the demand for more would be considered. The minister along with Mr Vijayan, Union tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam and others made an aerial survey of the flood-hit Idukki and Ernakulam districts. He also visited a relief camp on the outskirts of Ernakulam.

Mr Vijayan sought a special package to overcome the calamity. His memorandum pointed out that out of the Rs 1,220 crore the state demanded, Rs 820 crore was under the National Disaster Relief Fund guidelines placed earlier.

The central team that visited the state before the fresh spell of flooding had also recommended the same amount as immediate assistance, it said.

The state is facing the monsoon ravages for the second time within a month, and new team should be sent for assessing the loss and damages afresh, it said.

The compensation under the NDRF norms is limited and would not meet the requirement of the state. The government should release funds taking into account the prevailing situation.