Centre says no provision to declare Wayanad landslides as national disaster
New Indian ExpressKOCHI: There is no provision to declare any calamity as ‘national disaster’, the Union government has informed Kerala government in response to its plea to declare the July 30 landslides in Wayanad that left over 400 dead, as one. The Centre’s response drew flak from political parties, with Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary and the party’s Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll candidate, terming it a “shocking injustice to those who suffered unimaginable loss.” Ruling out the ‘national disaster’ declaration, which would help the state government get more central aid, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityananda Rai said the primary responsibility of disaster management rests with state governments. Rai wrote that state governments provide financial relief to affected people in the event of 12 notified natural disasters, which include floods and landslides, from the State Disaster Response Fund. Further, under the existing guidelines of SDRF/NDRF, there is no provision to declare any calamity as ‘national disaster’,” the Union minister’s letter said.