Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi, Sep 17 (PTI) The opposition Congress in Kerala on Tuesday said the memorandum given by the ruling Left government in the state to the Centre seeking urgent assistance for the Wayanad disaster relief work was “devoid of common sense” and allegedly contained “inflated” figures.
The Congress said that the memorandum was prepared “carelessly” and did not conform to the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) norms.
The allegations were made by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, who said that the government failed to make a proper memorandum and hoped that it would not lead to Kerala losing out on the much- needed Central assistance.
Speaking to reporters in Kochi, Satheesan said the amounts contained in the memorandum were part of the Kerala High Court’s order in a petition regarding the Wayanad disaster and not created by the media or the opposition.
He said that the figures mentioned in that have destroyed public faith and trust in the Wayanad relief measures.
The opposition leader said that the memorandum was supposed to be made according to SDRF norms, but many of the things mentioned in it have no connection with the norms.
Satheesan said that a huge amount was mentioned in the memorandum as cost incurred by the state on burying the remains, when the land for it was given free of cost and most of the burial work was carried out by volunteers.
According to the High Court order, the state government stated that “the cost involved and estimated” for burying 359 unidentified bodies and body parts after their DNA analysis was Rs 2,76,75,000 at the rate of Rs 75,000 per body/body part.
“How can the government claim it spent Rs 75,000 on burial of each remains? How can we trust these figures? There are irregularities in the preparation of the memorandum. This is not how it is prepared. It is devoid of common sense. It does not inspire confidence,” the opposition leader contended.
He further said that if the Centre has not given any funds after receiving the memorandum, then the state government needs to raise a complaint.
“If they (state government) have no complaints, how can we, being the opposition, complain?” he asked.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader and former Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala said that the Left government needs to examine whether it was right to show allegedly inflated figures to get more funds from the Centre for disaster relief work in landslides-hit Wayanad district.
He urged the Left government to disclose the true facts, including what was stated in its affidavit submitted in the Kerala High Court regarding the Wayanad relief efforts.
Chennithala said that it was necessary to get more funds from the Centre for the disaster relief work, “but the state government needs to examine whether it is right to give inflated figures?” The Congress leader said that everyone was aware of the alleged irregularities in connection with the disaster relief funds in 2019, and it is with that backdrop that the latest allegations are creating concerns among the people.
He urged that the true facts be disclosed by the government and said, “We need to exert pressure together to get more funds from the Centre.” The remarks by Satheesan and Chennithala came a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rubbished the charges of the BJP and UDF constituent, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), accusing the Left administration of corruption in amounts spent in connection with relief measures.
Vijayan had also termed as ‘baseless’ the media reports claiming that an exorbitant amount was spent as part of relief measures.
Media reports had made the claim referring to the Kerala High Court order.
The CM had said that the state government had submitted a memorandum with the union government seeking urgent assistance in view of the disaster and in that, the expected expenses under various heads were mentioned. This memorandum was being falsely reported by the media, he had alleged.
He had also claimed that it was an attempt to torpedo the state government’s efforts to secure assistance from the Central government.
Major landslides hit the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad on July 30, almost decimating both areas and leaving over 200 people dead. PTI HMP HMP KH
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