THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is absolutely no let-up in the Union Government’s attempts to deny funds Kerala is entitled to despite judicial raps.
The latest instance relates to the Centre’ denial of funds meant for the education of differently abled. It is yet to release two instalments amounting to Rs 781 crore. This is said to be ‘punishment’ for Kerala’s refusal to sign the PM Sree project. To the many letters sent to the Union Government in this regard, the standard reply is : when will you sign the PM Sree project?
West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have also been denied the funds on the same grounds.
The union Government’s delaying tactics have elicited strong opposition from both teachers and students’ organisations. This year, the Union Government is supposed to release Rs 885 crore for the project. In the absence of timely availability of funds, projects meant to help the differently abled students could not be implemented.
Likewise, the Viability Gap Fund(VGF) which has to be released for the Vizhinjam international port has been withheld, too. The Centre’s stand is that the State has to repay the amount. This has been made clear in the Union Finance Minister’s letter to the Kerala Chief Minister. The Empowered Committee formed by the Department of Economic Affairs has recommended sanctioning of Rs 817.80 crore for Vizhinjam by way of VGF.
The insistence on repayment of the amount is in blatant violation of the norms governing grant of VGF. For instance, when the VGF was granted for the Kochi Metro., the Centre had not laid the condition that it should be repaid. The new criterion meant exclusively for Kerala is against the standard guidelines of VGF.
The Centre’s argument that Kerala delayed submitting the demand for special financial assistance for the victims of Wayanad landslide tragedy is patently wrong. The post disaster needs assessment report and the memorandum seeking an Assistance of Rs 2221.033 crore was submitted on August 17. The report was jointly prepared by members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDM). The 583-page report was submitted on November 13. This memo was not for special assistance but for meeting the expenditure in connection with rehabilitation of the survivors. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was referring to this report when he said Kerala delayed it.
The Union Government’s false claim was to hide the fact that Kerala was not extended special assistance. It may be mentioned that both Tamil Nadu and Telangana were given urgent financial assistance the other day.
In October, the Union Government announced the sanctioning of Rs 675 crore to the disaster relief fund of three states. The States were: Gujarat (Rs 600 crore), Manipur (50 crore) and Tripura (Rs 25 crore).This year alone, the Centre released Rs 9044 crore from the disaster relief fund to 21 states. Kerala, however, did not figure in this list either! Among the states which were affected by floods and heavy rains were, apart from Kerala, Asom, Manipur Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
While the Union Government gave Kerala the cold shoulder, Andhra, Tripura and Telangana were given immediate relief. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a relief of Rs 3448 crore for AP and Telangana Again, while Tripura was granted Rs 40 crore, Asom and Sikkim received Rs 11,000 crore by way of disaster relief. Kerala was singled out for ‘punishment’.
As if this was not enough, Kerala was subjected to another humiliation when the Centre cut the Finance Commission grants for the local bodies. The big cut came during the tenure of the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions. While the 14th Finance Commission’s cut was 2.67 per cent, that inflicted by the 15th Finance Commission amounted to 2.68 %. As against this, UP got a raise of 16.05 %, and Maharashtra 9.59 % . The allocation to Haryana, Gujarat and Bihar also saw a substantial rise in their share of grants to the local bodies. If this is not blatant political discrimination and hostility, what is?
At a time when all parties in the State needed to act unitedly to get the Union Government to release the special financial package for Wayanad, the Opposition parties and the anti-LDF print as well as visual media undermined the Government’s efforts to get more funds for relief and rehabilitation. This they did by deliberately embarking upon a campaign of misinformation.
For instance, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP alleged that the Kerala Government claims to have spent huge amounts for the relief measures that the volunteers had undertaken free of cost!
This was nothing but unvarnished untruth. The State Government, in a quick response, said the figures, submitted to the High Court in a suomotu petition initiated by a Division Bench, are not the money spent on the ground but part of a memorandum submitted to the Union Government for securing central aid. Some sections of the media had reported that the Government claims to have incurred an expenditure of Rs 2.76 crore for burying 359 bodies at the rate of Rs 75,000 per body! However, several medical professionals have justified the Government’s projected cost for interring unidentified bodies. According to an expert, collecting the DNA of bodies and body parts for future identification alone could cost around Rs 25,000. This is apart from other related expenses on burial and cremation of bodies.
The Chief Minister’s office has taken strong exception to the wrong portrayal of the memorandum, prepared as per the National Disaster Relief Fund norms, as the actual expenses incurred by the Government. The wrong depiction of the details of the memorandum was part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to undermine the Government’s efforts to obtain maximum central aid, the communication released by the Chief Minister’s Office said.
However, it is gratifying to note that the misinformation campaign has failed to deter people from contributing handsomely to the Chief Minister’s disaster relief fund. Both the Opposition and the Government-hostile media forget that the people of Kerala are too enlightened to be taken in by such vicious propaganda. (IPA Service)