Kerala HC Flays State Govt Over SDRF Mismanagement, Demands Clarity On Fund Utilisation For Wayanad Rehabilitation

The Kerala High Court criticised the state government for inadequate fund allocation strategies and over-reliance on blaming the Centre for Wayanad landslide rehabilitation issues.

Ernakulam: In a recent ruling, the Kerala High Court criticised the state government for its failure to provide necessary information on the availability and utilisation of funds from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The court admonished the government, stating that it should stop repeatedly blaming the Central government for the Wayanad landslide rehabilitation and asking for more funds due to its lack of an allocation strategy. The High Court also expressed doubts about the adequacy of the allocation in the State Disaster Response Fund.

The bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias CP directed the state government to provide a clear account of the allocation and utilisation of funds from the State Disaster Response Fund, while also asking the Centre to submit details of the assistance provided. Although the Centre had filed an affidavit, the state was unable to provide accurate figures. The High Court criticised the state government, questioning whether any auditing was being conducted when the Finance Officer of the Disaster Response Authority appeared.

The state government has acknowledged the availability of Rs 782.99 crore in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). However, it informed the court that it cannot utilise the funds allocated by the Central government for immediate assistance without demonstrating that 50% of the SDRF funds have been spent. During the proceedings, the state government, along with the Finance Officer from the Department of Disaster Management, stated that Rs 677 crore should be the amount available in the SDRF. They were, however, unable to clarify what percentage of this amount could be allocated specifically for disaster relief efforts in Wayanad.

The High Court remarked, "You have Rs 677 crore in your SDRF account. There is an urgent need, yet you claim you don’t know how much can be spent because of prior commitments. You must have some idea of what is available to spend today. Any reasonable person should know this. Can you provide us with a rough estimate? If you cannot even offer an approximate figure, there’s no point in continuing this discussion about not having received or lacking the funds."

The court mocked that an audit may be underway at the Disaster Management Authority, but there is no need to see the report. The court also asked the state government, who it was fooling by accusing the Disaster Management Authority of not handling the figures properly. Furthermore, the court questioned how the state government could request further assistance from the Central government if it was unable to provide details about the funds in the SDRF or clarify the expenditures. The court stated that unless it was shown how much money was available to spend from the SDRF, it could not pass orders directing the Central Government to allocate funds for assistance. The court has posted the matter to December 12 for a detailed report from the state government.