India’s central government has finally stepped in with dedicated funds to help rebuild Wayanad district in Kerala, more than a year after deadly landslides devastated the area. On Wednesday, a high-level committee led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved Rs 260.56 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). This comes as Kerala pushes hard for Rs 2,221 crore to tackle the massive damage.
The money targets rebuilding in Mundakkai and Chooralmala, hit hard by the July 30, 2024, landslides. That tragedy wiped out four villages, killed over 200 people, injured hundreds, and left 32 still missing. Families and communities in Wayanad have waited 14 months for this kind of support, after repeated requests from state leaders.
Kerala sees this aid as just a start—it’s only about 11% of what the state asked for in its Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). The committee also greenlit Rs 4,645.60 crore total for disaster recovery across nine states. But the amount for Wayanad has sparked backlash, especially when compared to bigger packages elsewhere. For instance, BJP-ruled Assam got Rs 1,270.78 crore for its 2022 landslides, while Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh received Rs 1,658.17 crore and Rs 2,006.40 crore, respectively.
Kerala already got some help earlier—a Rs 529.50 crore loan for relief work and an extra Rs 153 crore in July—but state officials call it far from enough. They’ve long demanded a special package for Wayanad’s rehabilitation. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about it. Plus, a group of opposition UDF MPs, including Wayanad’s Priyanka Gandhi, met Shah face-to-face to make the case.
Both the ruling Left Democratic Front and opposition Congress parties slam the central government for overlooking Wayanad’s crisis, even though Modi visited the disaster zone right after it struck. With this new funding, Kerala plans to kick off the next round of reconstruction projects soon. Still, calls for a fuller aid package to truly revive Wayanad grow louder.
Back in March, Vijayan laid the groundwork for a state-led housing initiative in Wayanad. It aims to build 402 homes, each 1,000 square feet on seven cents of land, for affected families. During that event, he ripped into the Centre, pointing out that Kerala got loans it has to pay back instead of outright grants for disaster relief.
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