Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government and the Centre are continuing their tussle over the rehabilitation package for the victims of the devastating landslides, which claimed hundreds of lives more than a year ago in Wayanad.
Despite efforts by Kerala’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, the Centre has so far not allotted Rs 1202.12 crore as the immediate relief package that the state has been demanding. The state has also requested Rs 2,221.03 crore for reconstruction work.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was in Delhi on Thursday and Friday, meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to reiterate the state’s demands.
Addressing the media in Delhi, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said after his meetings, “We raised four demands to the Prime Minister, and the most important was the request for Rs 2,221 crore grant for the rehabilitation of Wayanad. We requested it earlier and have now reiterated it. We requested it to be considered a grant, not a loan.” Amit Shah assured that the Centre would consider Kerala’s request, added Pinarayi Vijayan.
This came a day after the Kerala High Court came down heavily on the Centre over its refusal to waive loans of victims of the 2024 Wayanad landslides. “By refusing to exercise a power, they have in a situation that calls for its exercise, we are of the view that the Union government has virtually failed the landslide victims of Wayanad,” the Kerala HC said.
The meetings also came a week after the central government released Rs 260.65 crore from the National Disaster Management Fund (NDMF)—an amount considered inadequate by the state. Earlier this year, the Centre granted the state a loan of Rs 529.5 crore, as the ruling LDF and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) continued to allege neglect.
In a series of landslides—one of the gravest disasters the state has so far seen—three villages under the Meppadi Panchayat in Wayanad were devastated in July 2024, following torrential rains. The tragedy claimed 298 lives, the state reported 118 missing persons, and more than 1,000 reportedly had to receive hospital treatment in the aftermath.
Amid the tussle over relief with the Centre, the Kerala government has begun the construction of a 65-acre township for the rehabilitation of the landslide victims, using public donations and the CM’s Disaster Relief Fund. Work started in March this year.
‘Govt has failed them’: Priyanka Gandhi
On Wednesday, a Kerala High Court division bench of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian commented that the Centre failed the state after a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) affidavit said that a loan waiver is beyond the Centre’s administrative powers and that there is no provision for a loan waiver in cases of natural disasters.
The court had sought loan waivers for the Wayanad landslide victims, taking suo motu cognisance of the disaster.
Agreeing with the Kerala High Court’s observation, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, soon after, said that the central government’s hesitancy to waive the loans of the victims is shocking, especially when the government does not hesitate to help large companies.
“These loans represent the lives of people who have endured unimaginable pain for no fault of theirs—they (loans) total up to a minuscule amount, in comparison. The Hon’ble Kerala High Court has observed: when people have most needed help, the Union government has failed them. I couldn’t agree more,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
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‘Banks must provide relief’: MHA affidavit
The MHA’s affidavit noted that there was no provision for a loan waiver, except in the 2018 Reserve Bank of India’s directions on relief measures to be taken by banks in areas affected by natural calamities.
With that said, the MHA affidavit stressed that banks must provide relief by restricting loans, as well as issuing fresh loans to the victims, providing interest rate concessions, and taking a “sympathetic approach” towards the victims.
The MHA affidavit also stated that following the 2015 conference for banks and financial institutions in India, the central government had decided not to interfere in the commercial working or decisions of banks.
“Hence, it is—humbly—submitted that the decision to grant a loan waiver is beyond the administrative powers of the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance,” it emphasised.
Wayanad victims’ loans ‘merely a fraction’: HC
The Kerala High Court, however, noted that the powers of the Centre are as widely spanning as parliamentary legislative powers, including in banking and taxation.
It further said the state expected the Union government—since it is the repository of vast powers—to act responsibly and protect the fundamental rights of the disaster victims. After all, the Centre approved an additional assistance of Rs 707 crore for Assam and Gujarat, affected by floods and landslides in 2024, the court noted. It also highlighted that the amount sought for loan waiver was “merely a fraction” of the aid given to those states.
“The federal principle envisaged under the Constitution does not allow for differential treatment of citizens in any particular state. Party politics cannot negate the constitutional guarantee of protection of the fundamental rights of the people in a democratic republic,” the Kerala High Court stated.
It added that the court, however, would not issue any directions to the central government in the matter, respecting the separation of powers. However, it stayed confiscation or recovery actions by banks till the settlement of the case.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)