Declare Wayanad landslides a national disaster, Opposition MPs demand in Parliament

New Delhi: Several MPs on Tuesday demanded that the Wayanad landslides be declared a national calamity but the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Parliament that there is no such provision to declare any disaster in such a manner.

To a question raised by Congress MP K Sudhakaran, who represents Kerala's Kannur, Ministry of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the primary responsibility for disaster management, including disbursal of relief to the affected people, as per National Policy on Disaster Management, rests with the states and Union Territories.

"The scheme of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) / National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) does not contemplate declaration of any calamity as national calamity," Rai said in a written reply.

"The state governments undertake relief measures in the wake of natural disasters from the SDRF, already placed at their disposal, in accordance with the Government of India’s approved items and norms. However, the Central Government adjudges a calamity of ‘severe nature’ on a case-to-case basis taking into account inter-alia, the intensity and magnitude of the calamity, level of relief assistance required, coping capacity of the state government to tackle the problem etc," he added.

In Rajya Sabha, CPI floor leader P Sandosh Kumar and Congress' Jebi Mather had demanded that the landslides in Wayanad be declared as a national calamity.