KOCHI: Coming down heavily on the central government for its stand that there would be no loan waiver for the Wayanad landslide victims, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday orally observed that the Centre has failed the people of Kerala.
“Enough is enough. We don’t need the central government’s charity. This is just bureaucratic babble. It’s not about whether the central government can act, but whether they are willing to act. If you are unwilling to act, we (the Bench) dare to say it. Who are you trying to fool?” remarked the court.
In its affidavit, the central government stated that there is no provision for granting loan waivers in cases of natural disasters.
A Division Bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian suo motu impleaded 12 banks in the case, including the State Bank of India, and directed that any recovery action initiated by these banks against the Wayanad landslide victims shall be kept in abeyance until the final disposal of the writ petition.
The court also took note of newspaper reports stating that the central government had approved Rs 707 crore for Gujarat and Assam, which were affected by floods and landslides in 2024.
“One could understand if the Union Executive did not have the funds. Let us hope we don’t reach that stage — where the Union of India is helpless and in penury, unable to assist any particular State,” the court observed.
The newspaper report stated that a High-Level Committee had approved Rs 707.97 crore of additional central assistance to the states of Assam and Gujarat, which were affected by floods and landslides during 2024.
Neither these floods nor the landslides were classified as severe, and yet Rs 707 crore was allocated to them. It doesn’t end there. The same committee also approved Rs 903.67 crore to Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan under the NDRF for the expansion and modernisation of fire services.
“If they have the courage, let them say they are not willing to help. But at the very least, the people should know that in times like this, the Union Government has failed the people — at least of this State. This is deeply disturbing,” the Bench observed.