Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 8 : Kerala Minister K Rajan on Wednesday welcomed the High Court observation criticising the Centre for its refusal to waive the loans of those affected by the devastating Wayanad landslides of 2024. The Minister accused the Centre of showing a stepmotherly attitude towards Kerala.
"Kerala High Court itself has recognised the Centre's hostility towards Kerala. The court said, 'If you are not ready to help, tell it directly to the people.' Kerala is not seeking mercy; it is demanding its rightful share. The court told the Centre's counsel to 'read the Constitution and then come to court'," the Minister told reporters.
He said that the Centre's affidavit has caused extreme discomfort. While the Centre is generously supporting other states, it is showing a stepmotherly attitude only towards Kerala, he alleged.
"The court warned that if this stance continues, strict action will be taken. The Centre is testing Kerala's patience. There is no issue in Kerala intervening to waive off the debts of disaster-affected people. However, this could create technical issues such as those related to the CIBIL score. Still, the law empowers the Central Government to act in this matter. The Kerala Government has strongly registered its protest against the Centre's stance," he said.
VD Satheesan, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, also welcomed the High Court observation.
"I welcome the decision of the Kerala High Court because we had been demanding a loan waiver for the victims of the Wayanad landslide. But unfortunately, the central government was not ready to make a decision in this regard," Satheesan told ANI.
"We had adopted a unanimous resolution in the Kerala Assembly demanding a loan waiver. But even then, the Central government was not ready. They are doing this thing in Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and in the various other northern states, but unfortunately, they are not doing it in Kerala," he added.
Earlier in the day, the Kerala High Court criticised the Union government for refusing to waive the loans of the survivors of the devastating landslides. The remarks came while the court was considering a suo motu case it had initiated following the July 2024 landslides in Meppadi grama panchayat, which claimed hundreds of lives and left many families displaced.
The Central government has informed the High Court that the loans of the Mundake-Churalmala disaster victims cannot be waived. There is no provision in the law to waive bank loans, it said.
The Central government has informed the court that the matter does not come under the jurisdiction of the Centre, and the decision should be taken by the board of directors of the respective banks. The High Court criticised the central government's stance as disturbing. "If the bank is not interested in writing off the loan, it should show courage to say so openly. It is not right to say that the Centre does not have the authority. If this is the approach, the court will have to take a tough stand," the division Bench, comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian, said.
The Kerala High Court also mentioned orally that an interim order will be issued to stay the loan recovery proceedings of those affected by the Wayanad landslide.