Kerala floods: Govt inherited policy of refusing foreign aid, says Alphons

In refusing foreign aid for the rehabilitation of flood-hit Kerala, the Centre has followed a 14-year convention it "inherited" from previous governments of refusing such assistance in the face of natural calamities, Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam said on Thursday.

The government is under fire for refusing aid for Kerala from countries like the UAE and Thailand. Alphons said this was a policy that was followed by the current government since former prime minister Manmohan Singh had refused aid from foreign countries in 2004 during the devastating Tsunami.

"A policy decision was taken by the Manmohan Singh government in December, 2004 in the aftermath of the Tsunami and that policy has been continued with for the last 14 years. This is something we have inherited," he told reporters here.

Earlier, among others, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac had criticised the BJP-led government over the refusal of aid and said the rain ravaged southern state had asked the Centre for a financial support of Rs 22 billion, but was granted only Rs 6 billion.

Kerala floods: State may push Centre to accept Rs 7-bn aid from UAE

The Kerala government on Wednesday said if the Centre decides to refuse an offer of Rs 7 billion as flood relief from Kerala — as reported in some news reports — it should compensate the state for it.

Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan said, “We have heard there are some obstacles in receiving this fund. We will discuss with the government and go to the prime minister.”

According to the National Disaster Management Policy (NDMP), 2016, the Centre can take a decision on whether or not to take relief funds offered by another country. The Centre has released Rs 6 billion for the state, even though Kerala had demanded Rs 22 billion.

“We did not ask the United Arab Emirates to give us money; they offered Rs 7 billion voluntarily. Now, the Union government says it is below our dignity to accept foreign aid,” said Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac in a tweet, adding the NDMP allows for international aid in case of severe calamity.