Kerala to explore legal options to avail of foreign aid: CM Vijayan

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As Kerala picks up the pieces, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the government would explore the possibility of legal options to avail the funds offered to the state, including that from abroad.

His statement assumes significance in the wake of a row over the Centre's refusal to accept the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) reported offer of Rs 7 billion to the flood-hit state.

Addressing a specially convened one-day session of the state assembly to discuss the unprecedented flood situation, Vijayan said 483 people have lost lives in the state since the onset of monsoon on May 28 and 14 were still missing.

He said the state's economy had been badly hit and the loss could be much more than the state's annual plan outlay for the year which stood at Rs 372.47 billion.

I-T department extends deadline for filing returns in Kerala due to floods

The Income Tax department has extended the deadline for filing returns by a fortnight to September 15 for assessees in Kerala, which was ravaged by floods this month. Earlier, the department had extended the last date for filing returns by a month till August 31 across the country.

Meanwhile, a delegation led by the Union Minister of State for Finance P Radhakrishnan will visit Kerala on Wednesday and review the relief measures and rehabilitation efforts being undertaken by banks and insurance companies in the state.

The delegation would comprise senior officers from the Centre, including additional secretary Debashish Panda and economic advisor N Srinivasa Rao.

Chairman and managing directors from the public sector banks and insurance companies, including Agriculture Insurance Company of India and NABARD would also be present in the review meetings, along with senior officers from the state government.

Flood-ravaged Kerala's wait for full central aid package could be long

Flood-ravaged Kerala may have to wait a few months to get the complete financial aid package from the Centre as the process of assessing the extent of damage and fund release is time-consuming, officials said.

After the initial release of funds, the Central government follows certain rules and guidelines before awarding the final aid to any state for a natural calamity, said a home ministry official, privy to such circumstances. The Centre has so far released Rs 6 billion for Kerala, which witnessed its worst flood in a century. The death toll in Kerala floods has touched 293 since August 8 while 15 people are still missing.

According to the existing guidelines on disaster relief funds, the central government's contribution to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) is 75 per cent for general category states and 90 per cent for special category states of hilly regions.

SC asks TN to maintain Mullaperiyar dam's water level at 139 ft till Aug 31

The Supreme Court Thursday ordered thaat the water level at the Mullaperiyar dam be maintained at 139 feet till August 31, keeping in mind the grave devastation that has taken place due to the unprecedented floods in Kerala.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the Centre's submission that the sub-committee of the Mullaperiyar dam had met on August 23 and directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that the water level is maintained at 139 feet, which is two feet below the permissible limit fixed by the apex court.

The bench made it clear that it would confine itself to the aspect of disaster management and said that the decision to lower the water limit in the dam has been taken in view of the devastating deluge in Kerala.

The observation came after Tamil Nadu government alleged that "it could be a part of a sinister design" to circumvent the apex court's decision fixing the permissible limit.

Lessons from Kerala floods: The need to change our development approach

Kerala Floods - Media call it the worst flood of the century in the region. After more than two weeks of relentless rain, Kerala, a state at the southern tip of India, known internationally for its scenic green landscapes, touristic spots and backwaters, is left with over 1 million people in relief camps, and close to 400 reported dead – the number is expected to be much higher, as many areas remain inaccessible.

In the mountainous Coorg or Kodagu district in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, thousands of people have been marooned because of torrential rains. Exacerbated by landslides in hilly terrain, flooding has led to the destruction of homes, bridges, road networks and industries.

Far from being a surprise, the possibility of such devastation was highlighted several years ago.

Kerala floods show Modi has his priorities wrong

Kerala Floods - The worst flooding in more than a century has left hundreds dead, hundreds of thousands homeless, billions of dollars of losses and the lingering risk of disease in Kerala. Blame the monsoon, or rickety infrastructure?

Pinning down the cause of the disaster is important in assessing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s spending priorities as he heads into an election year. India’s Budget certainly needs an overhaul.

While the Kerala downpours were unusually heavy, most of the damage was done after the sluice gates of brimming dams were opened to release water into parts of the southwestern coast that were already on the verge of inundation. The flooding itself is no surprise: Almost 15 per cent of India’s land mass is prone to floods and every year, on average, as many as 2,000 lives are lost and up to 8 million hectares (20 million acres) affected, at a cost of Rs 18 billion ($258 million).

Udupi, Idukki record highest rainfall in 2018, serve future warning

Kerala now faces the ravages of the worst monsoon floods in 94 years, with 373 dead and more than 1.2 million in relief camps after 2,378 millimetre (mm) of rain over 81 days between June 1 and August 20, 2018–42% above normal or three times more than the Indian average for that period–according to data from the India aDepartment (IMD).

Kerala is facing its worst flood in 100 years. 80 dams opened, 324 lives lost and 223139 people are in about 1500+ relief camps. Your help can rebuild the lives of the affected. Donate to https://t.co/FjYFEdOsyl #StandWithKerala.

— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 17, 2018

With extreme weather events and variability increasing in urban and rural India, as IndiaSpend has previously reported, flooding is likely to become more common, the outcomes attributable as much to poor planning as climate change. In Kerala, the monsoons have generally decreased, and that was a reason the state was unprepared for such a ferocious monsoon, an IMD official told the Times of India on August 21, 2018.

Centre says Kerala floods 'calamity of severe nature': An explainer

Kerala Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan and several other politicians have demanded that the floods in Kerala, triggered by heavy torrential rains, be declared as a 'national disaster'.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Friday: “Dear PM, Please declare #Kerala floods a National Disaster without any delay. The lives, livelihood and future of millions of our people is at stake.”

On Monday, the Union Home Ministry declared the floods and landslides in Kerala as a "calamity of a severe nature". As of Sunday, close to 370 lives have been lost owing to the heavy rains, landslides and flood-related incidents in the state, according to agency reports.

Here is an explainer on the different types of calamities that come under the Disaster Management Act, how they are categorised and when and how much the Centre extends support to the affected state.