The Kerala government has flagged a section in the National Disaster Management Plan on foreign help.
Highlights
- UAE, Maldives and Qatar have pledged help for Kerala
- Centre on Wednesday said it would prefer domestic efforts to raise funds
- But centre can reconsider the approach, say ex-diplomats
After the government's firm no to accepting financial help from other nations for flood-hit Kerala, where the focus is now on costly relief and rebuilding efforts, two former diplomats have offered a way out.
One of them is Shivshankar Menon, who was National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary when the Congress-led UPA was in power.
Mr Menon tweeted that the government had decided in 2004 to accept foreign funds not for immediate relief but for long term rehabilitation.
"If memory serves, the 2004 decision was to not accept foreign participation in relief but accept it for long term rehabilitation case by case", said the former top diplomat.
The UAE has offered Rs 700 crore, Qatar has pledged Rs 35 crore and Maldives has announced a donation of Rs 35 lakh. Thailand also made an offer but India has refused, said the country's envoy. The Kerala government, struggling with the prospect of a gargantuan rebuilding effort, had welcomed the UAE's offer.
Sources say over the years, India has been an aid-giver, not an aid-taker, and New Delhi wants that standing to remain.
Last night, the foreign ministry said in a statement that while it appreciated offers of help from other nations, it would prefer domestic efforts to raise funds. "Contributions to PM relief fund and CM relief fund from NRIs, PIOs and international entities such as foundations would, however, be welcome," it said.
Nirupama Rao, another former top foreign ministry officer, said "saying no is not so simple".
Even the Congress-led UPA government had, during the Uttarakhand floods in 2013, decided not to accept assistance from foreign countries.
The Kerala government has already flagged a section in the National Disaster Management Plan that it says allows the centre to accept assistance offered by a foreign government.
"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... In consultation with the concerned State Government, the MHA (Home Ministry) will assess the response requirements that the foreign teams can provide," says a section on "International Cooperation" in the National Disaster Management Plan published in 2016.
237 have died in Kerala in since August 8.
(Kerala has to rebuild itself after the worst floods in over a century. Hundreds have died and lakhs are homeless. Here is how you can help.)