New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah took part in discussions on the situation arising out of landslides at Wayanad in Kerala, in both the houses of Parliament on Wednesday. Speaking on the Wayanad tragedy in both the Houses, Amit Shah expressed his condolences to all those who lost their lives and wished speedy recovery to those injured in the natural calamity. He said at this time of disaster, Narendra Modi government stands rock solid with the people of Kerala and the Kerala government. Shah said that the Central government is making every possible effort for rescue, relief and rehabilitation in Wayanad. The Union Home Minister said before 2014, India had a rescue-centric approach towards disaster, but after 2014, the Modi government is moving ahead with a zero casualty approach. He said it is the responsibility of the state governments to take people to safer places in time as per the information sent by the Centre. Shah said that the Central government has left no stone unturned in the rescue work during this disaster and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is constantly monitoring the progress and is continuously taking updates on the ongoing relief and rescue operations in Wayanad. Earlier, participating in the discussion on the same subject in the Rajya Sabha, Amit Shah said that on 23 July, seven days before the disaster, the Centre had given an early warning to the Kerala government and after this, early warnings were also given on July 24 and 25. He said July 26, the Kerala government was told that there would be heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm and there are possibilities of landslides potentially causing loss of life of property. He said that if those making allegations had read the early warnings, then this situation would not have arisen. The Union Home Minister said that many State governments have reported zero or near zero casualty disaster management using the Early Warning System. Giving examples, he cited the cases of Odisha and Gujarat. He said that a cyclone alert was sent to the Government of Odisha, seven days in advance, and only one casualty was reported. He said that an alert was sent to Gujarat, three days in advance, and not a single animal was harmed. Amit Shah said that since 2014, the Centre spent Rs 2,323 crore on Early Warning Systems to ensure safety and security of the people and alerts are being shared with all stakeholders. He said information is sent to all the States and UTs, a week in advance and that information is available for everyone on the website. Amit Shah further stated that after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, work has been done to install the world’s most modern Early Warning System in India. He said that India is among the top four-five countries to have the capability to forecast disasters, seven days in advance. He added that most of the countries have capability to make such forecasts only three days in advance. The Union Home Minister said early warning systems are in place to report rainfall, storms, cyclones, heat waves, cold waves, tsunamis, earthquake, landslides, and even lightning. He said that if the opposition is really not aware about the Early Warning System then it is not a good situation but if they have the knowledge and are merely doing politics then it is unfortunate. He said that many states have used it and have got favourable results. Amit Shah said that with his approval, nine NDRF teams were airlifted by the Central government on July 23 to Kerala, in anticipation of disaster. He asked the Kerala government why it failed to shift the people living in the vulnerable zones. He lamented, had the Kerala government acted in time, many lives would have been saved. Amit Shah said that States can release 10 per cent of fund from SDRF on their own volition and utilise 100 per cent of the amount complying with the set guidelines, without any approval from the Centre. He said Rs 6,244 crore was sanctioned for West Bengal from 2014 to 2024. Out of which, Rs 4,619 crore has already been released. Union Home Minister said that apart from the nine battalions of NDRF sent on July 23, three more battalions were dispatched yesterday. He said that this is the time to stand with the government and the people of Kerala. Amit Shah reiterated that the Narendra Modi government will stand rock solid with the people and government of Kerala in this hour of crisis.
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