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Updated August 22nd, 2018 at 20:24 IST

'Disappointed' Former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy writes to PM Modi and calls for reversing UPA-era 'no foreign aid for disasters' policy

Former Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the denial of financial aids from UAE was 'disappointing'

Reported by: Anirudh Sunilkumar
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Former Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey his disappointment at the quantum of aid that the Centre has allocated on account of the Kerala floods and also at the decision to not accept the Rs 700 crore in aid being offered by the UAE

In his letter, Chandy stated that the decision to deny financial assistance of Rs 700 crore from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sayid Al Nahyan of UAE was 'disappointing to the people of Kerala', and that the aid provided by the Central Government towards the relief of those who were affected was 'quite disappointing as far as the magnitude of the crisis is concerned'.

Without delving into its origin, Chandy picked up on the UPA-era policy regarding India not accepting foreign aid over disasters, which has been implemented (in terms of aid being declined) in a number of natural disasters, and opined that such rules should be aimed at eradicating people's suffering. He sought for modifications to be made to any obstacles in accepting aid from the UAE. Chandy concluded the letter by requesting the Government of India to take further steps to provide maximum possible assistance to Kerala since it has declared the floods as a 'calamity of severe nature'.

Here's the letter addressed to the PM by Oommen Chandy:

India's policy of not accepting relief aid in the case of natural disaster came into force after December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami that caused enormous loss of life throughout several South-East Asian countries including on India's East coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

During the time, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had declined offers of foreign aid from other countries on account of India's propensity to manage such disasters by itself.

“We feel that we can cope up with the situation on our own and we will take their help if needed”, then PM Manmohan Singh had said.

Since then, for a number of calamities, including multiple floods in Jammu and Kashmir and in Uttarakhand, India has declined offers of aid, as per what appears to now have become an informal diplomatic protocol. Contributions can be made, however, via remittances by Indians staying abroad, or via NGOs, or through donations into disaster relief funds.                                                            

Following the 'no foreign aid for disasters' policy coming into effect, which coincided with the fastest economic growth India had recorded till that point, India appears to have instead become one of the top donors. In fact, India had donated $25 million in aid to Sri Lanka following the very same 2004 Tsunami, and has regularly provided aid to a number of countries, including the US and Bangladesh (Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Sidr), Pakistan and China (Earthquakes), and even Japan (Earthquake and subsequent Fukushima-Daichii nuclear accident).

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Published August 22nd, 2018 at 20:24 IST

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