Dreams of a ‘New Kerala’: Crisis as Opportunity
K.M. Seethi
Written for The Woke Journal
The South Indian State of Kerala is now in the midst of a paradigm-reassessment in the wake of floods and landslides that played havoc with the entire bio-eco system of the state in the month of August 2018. Many ideas and proposals are in the air with regard to the strategies of mobilizing funds and the very process of building a ‘New Kerala.’ The media and civil society platforms are all agog to discuss alternatives and proposals. The State Planning Board and other institutions as well as intellectuals involved in the development process are also very active in assisting the State Government to consider various options to deal with the contingency situation. This uptight search is partly due to the realization that the Union Government may not come up with its ‘promised’ help in rebuilding Kerala. More profoundly, the Modi Government’s general attitude regarding international assistance for disaster relief has already dampened down whatever enthusiasm that existed for exploring help from foreign governments and international institutions.
The disaster that hit Kerala following the unprecedented monsoon in August 2018 has really caused an embarrassment of unbelievable magnitude for the 34 million people of the State. Nearly 1.4 million people were relocated in emergency relief camps, as well as in the houses/buildings of others in three-four days. Another million people are surely to bear the cost at different levels. As much as 46,000 hectares of agricultural land suffered heavy losses due to the flood and landslides. More than 10,000 houses, thousands of kilometers of national and state highways, countryside roads, and nearly 200 bridges need urgent repairs or reconstruction. Hundreds of shops and allied establishments were also completely gutted.
Even as the final estimates of the loss of the flood disaster in Kerala are still under consideration, the Government sources indicated that it would go much higher than the Annual Plan (2018-19) for the State. The initial estimates of the loss only showed a rough calculation of nearly $300 million (as much as Rs.20, 000 crores). But the loss, as it has been calculated, would even reach $600 million (more than Rs.40, 000 crores), according to official sources. The Annual Plan for the year 2018-19 is, however, a little more than $ 400 million (above Rs.29, 000 crores). The losses estimated need not necessarily cover other types of liabilities, such as farmers’ debt, insurance payment, bank loans/commercial credits, availed by medium and small traders etc. Obviously, the next few months and years will be a testing time for the Government and the people.
The Chief Minister of the State who piloted the relief operations on a war footing acknowledged that the State mechanisms, local authorities, elected representatives, people and the Central forces played a coordinated role in the successful completion of operations. He said that there was “meticulous planning, rigorous assessment of ground realities, efficient use of technology, resolve of people and flawless coordination on the part of the state.” The Chief Minister also made proposals for a series of measures that call for urgent short-term and long-term actions on the part of the Government agencies, local authorities, banks, insurance firms, cooperatives, employees and workers. The proposals include the State Government employees and workers within and outside the state contributing a months’ salary in ten installments. He also appealed to the Kerala diaspora to seriously consider his proposal.
Writing on the situation in Kerala, Shiv Visvanathan, an independent observer, noted:
The Kerala flood has been huge in scale and almost unprecedented. One has to go back to 1924 to think of a flood of a similar scale. Yet this is one disaster that has avoided exaggeration. A wise observer, in fact, said, “This is a flood that has avoided sentimentality. The response is realistic and pragmatic. Citizens have moved into action and yet they knew the limits of aid and relief.” Central to this, in style and leadership, is the role of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who has been a hands-on administrator. Interestingly, he has set a style emphasising concern with no self-denial, a clear-cut statement of the scale of the problem and the long-range effort required to address it.
Mr. Vijayan has no time for blame games or electoral politics. His even-tempered handling of the Centre and the southern States reflects a maturing of leadership. By avoiding nitpicking, he has brought a new maturity to the discourse on floods. There are no blame games but he is clear about the chain of responsibility. He has signalled that his concern is with people first, regardless of ideology or religion. He has made sure that relief is not parochialised or seen through a party lens. He might be of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), but he has convincingly acted as the Chief Minister of Kerala. All the malignant rumours spread by the right wing asking people to deny aid to Kerala as it helps missionaries leave him cold. He is clear about focus and priority, clear that this is not the time for electoral bickering or factional politics (Visvanathan 2018).
Financing Disaster Recovery
The search for alternative sources of funds started with the disappointing nod from New Delhi. There are apprehensions that the Modi Government might not consider Kerala’s actual requirements which run into thousands of crores. Though the Union Government, after its initial hesitation, acknowledged the disaster in Kerala as a “calamity of severe nature” (categorizing it under L3), the follow-up signs are apparently not reassuring, according to official sources. In fact, L3 implies situations arising from large-scale disasters, wherein districts and the state may not have the capacity to respond adequately and need assistance from the Centre.
According to the July 2015 Guidelines of the national disaster regime, natural calamities of cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloud burst, pest attack and cold wave and frost considered to be of severe nature by Government of India (GoI) and requiring expenditures by a state government in excess of the balances available in its own State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) will qualify for immediate relief assistance from National Disaster Response Funds (NDRF). NDRF is defined in Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 as a fund managed by the Union Government for meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation due to any threatening disaster situation or disaster. It is set up to supplement the funds of the SDRF of the states to facilitate immediate relief in case of calamities of a severe nature.
The financial assistance from SDRF/NDRF is for providing immediate relief and is not compensation for loss/damage to properties /crops. In other words, NDRF amount can be spent only towards meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation. For projects entirely for the purpose of mitigation, i.e, measures aimed at reducing the risk, impact or effect of a disaster or threatening disaster situation a separate fund called National Disaster Mitigation Fund has to be constituted. With the enactment of the Disaster Management Act in 2005, existing National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) was renamed as National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in September 2010. The revised norms for assistance from NDRF were brought out in April 2015.
The main objective of NDRF is to supplement the SDRF, in case there is a calamity of ‘severe nature’ which requires assistance over and above the funds available under SDRF. Earlier, the National Finance Commission had recommended the establishment of a Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) in each State, with 75 per cent contribution by the Union Government and 25 per cent by the State. For calamities of rare severity, the Union Government was asked to provide assistance and support beyond that envisaged in the CRF. However, with the enactment of the Disaster Management Act in 2005 and consequent changes in the design and structure of disaster management, the 13th Finance Commission recommended the merger and transfer of NCCF balances, as on 31 March 2010, to the NDRF which was notified by the Union Government. In the event of a disaster of ‘a severe nature,’ in which the funds needed for relief operations exceeded the balances in the SDRF account, additional assistance would be provided from the NDRF after following prescribed procedures. These procedures actually caused hitches and delays. The victims may not get the relief even after a year. The Kerala Government often complained that even the amount allotted by the Centre following the Okhi cyclone could not be fully utilized because of unrealistic norms and procedures imposed by the law.
While reports of offer of foreign assistance and help were in the air, India had indicated to the foreign governments of its inability to accept such aid. It said that the policy adopted since 2004 was that India would not accept such aid. The National Disaster Management Plan 2016, however, is very clear on this question. It basically contradicts the Government’s position.
The Provision 9.2 of the Plan says:
As a matter of policy, the Government of India does not issue any appeal for foreign assistance in the wake of a disaster. However, if the national government of another country voluntarily offers assistance as a goodwill gesture in solidarity with the disaster victims, the Central Government may accept the offer. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is required to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, which is primarily responsible for reviewing foreign offers of assistance and channelizing the same. In consultation with the concerned State Government, the MHA will assess the response requirements that the foreign teams can provide (Government of India, National Disaster Management Authority 2016).
According to the Provision 9.3,
In the case of an offer of assistance from UN Agencies, the India will accept the offer only if the government considers it necessary, based on various factors. If accepted, GoI will issue directions to the respective Ministry or State Government to coordinate with the concerned UN agency. Any financial assistance offered by UN financial institutions involving foreign exchange will require the approval of the Department of Economic Affairs, GoI. India will allow UN agencies and international NGOs already operating in the country at the time of the disaster event to continue their humanitarian assistance to people in the affected area in coordination with the relevant Central Ministries/Departments and the State Government as per applicable norms and protocol(Ibid).
It is very clear that the Union Government cannot deny international assistance if there is voluntary offer from governments and international organisations. Kerala has a diaspora of more than 3 million, and not less than 2 million expatriates are working in the GCC countries alone. Malayali expatriates have been instrumental in building the GCC economies, over years. It is therefore natural that countries like UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia etc have interest in helping Kerala. The historical connectivity between Kerala and West Asia is also well-known.
Admittedly, in major disaster recovery programmes, the role of State agencies is very important in terms of burden-sharing as well as rebuilding the economy and human ecology. As per the provisions of the National Disaster Management Act, the Union Government cannot run away from its responsibility undermining the spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’ which the Prime Minister Modi and his colleagues have been taking about. Everyone knows that the colossal damage caused by the floods cannot be managed by the State Government alone. It needs a coordinated action plan involving the Union, State and local governments.
Successful disaster recovery programme also calls for meticulous efforts to combine knowledge, technology, expertise, institutional capacities, management skills, and practical experience for best possible results, which would not be feasible without the synergy between the State and civil society. While the state can professionally link up knowledge, technology, skills, resources, expertise offered by specialist institutions with grassroots experience, organisational capacity, participator y management skills, community based initiatives of civil society groups for disaster recovery. Youth and civil society groups can be innovative and participatory in their mode of operation while government can replicate best practices for larger pay-off. In sum, Kerala has enormous potential to emerge like a phoenix provided there is adequate support from, and synergy between the State and non State actors.
References
Government of India, National Disaster Management Authority (2016): National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), New Delhi: A National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India, https://ndma.gov.in/images/policyplan/dmplan/National%20Disaster%20Management%20Plan%20May%202016.pdf
Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs (2009): “National Policy on Disaster Management2009,”
https://ndma.gov.in/images/guidelines/national-dm-policy2009.pdf
Visvanathan, Shiv (2018): “Rescue, relief and renewal,” The Hindu, 28 August.
