Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The Centre should be ready to end the injustice and neglect towards Kerala and provide the necessary assistance to the Mundakkai-Chooralmala disaster victims in Wayanad, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
In a statement in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday (October 4, 2025), the Chief Minister said the disaster occurred in Meppadi on July 30, 2024. Within 10 days, the Central team came for a disaster assessment, and the very next day, the Prime Minister visited the disaster site.
After conducting a preliminary assessment, Kerala had requested an emergency assistance of ₹1,202.12 crore. It has been a year and two months since the incident, and no emergency assistance has been granted by the Centre. Despite the request to write off the loans of the disaster victims, the Centre has not taken any steps so far, he said.
In addition, Section 13 of the Disaster Management Act related to relief in loan repayment for victims of disaster was removed.
The Central government recently informed the High Court in writing that the act does not allow the loan waiver of the victims of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala disaster, citing this amendment. Kerala submitted its first memorandum on August 17, 2024, immediately after the disaster. In addition to the memorandum, a post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) was conducted, and a detailed report was submitted on November 13, 2024. Section 13 of the Disaster Management Act was in force during both occasions, said Mr. Vijayan.
It was only on March 29 this year that the Central government issued a gazette notification removing this Section. This amendment does not have any retrospective effect. Yet, the Centre adopted a cruel and merciless approach towards the victims that it could not provide assistance to them. The Centre took even five months to declare the disaster a “disaster of severe nature”. Due to this, the prospects of availing international assistance were diminished, he said.
“Only ₹260.56 crore was sanctioned the other day against the requirement of ₹2,221.03 crore for the reconstruction and rehabilitation. This amount is not even one-eighth of our actual requirement,” the Chief Minister said.
The neglect towards Kerala has invited widespread criticism against the Centre from all sections of the people in the State. Considering this, the Centre should not delay any further in protecting the rights of the affected victims and supporting them with the necessary assistance, he said.
Published – October 04, 2025 04:22 pm IST
