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| - Fact Check: Why KTR is wrong in blaming Centre for denying flood relief funds to Telangana
KTR said that Telangana hasn't received any money from the National Disaster Response Funds since 2018. But here's why KTR is wrong to blame the Centre.
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India Today Fact Check
Telangana didn’t seek funds in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Centre approved Rs. 245.96 crore in 2020-21, but it wasn’t released. Per rules, if state relief fund has more than double the money, the amount is not granted. Telangana SDRF had Rs. 977.67 crore.
Has the Centre turned a blind eye toward Telangana while it’s reeling under floods and denied it help under the National Disaster Response Funds?
KT Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, the son of Telangana's chief minister, made this sensational allegation on Twitter, tagging the PMO. He asked if this was what “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” and co-operative federalism meant? KTR is a cabinet minister and the working president of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
Sharing a table that shows the state-wise release of funds under the NDRF, KTR tweeted, “Telangana has been reeling under heavy floods but not a single rupee granted under NDRF since 2018.” At the time of writing this, his tweet had received thousands of likes and retweets.
Hon’ble @PMOIndia Is this what “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”& Co-operative federalism means?
Telangana has been reeling under heavy floods but not a single rupee granted under NDRF since 2018!
Neither did you offer relief to 2020 Hyderabad floods nor to 2022 Godavari floods. Why? pic.twitter.com/zcW1HK07vV — KTR (@KTRTRS) July 19, 2022
AFWA looked thoroughly into government documents and found that while it’s true that Telangana hasn’t received a single rupee under the NDRF since 2018, KTR is telling only half the story.
Is KTR right about Telangana not getting a single rupee out of NDRF?
Prima facie, what KTR said is right. However, getting relief from the National Disaster Response Funds is a long and complicated process with multiple layers of checks and approvals. After a state seeks relief from the Centre, the matter is looked into by a High Level Committee. The Committee evaluates the demand and decides the amount to be released.
In the case of Telangana, the Committee approved Rs. 245.96 crore in FY 2020-21. However, the amount was not released. The last time Telangana received NDRF money was in FY 2017-18.
What is the source of KTR’s claim?
The table shared by KTR is factual. This is the same data that MOS Home Affairs Nityanand Rai presented in the Lok Sabha on July 19 while responding to a question from Assam MP Prodyut Bordolui. As per this table, Telangana has not received NDRF grants since 2018. But Telangana is not the only one. Seven other states, many of them BJP-ruled, also did not get any funds from the NDRF since 2018. These states are Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Punjab, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand.
Is KTR right in blaming the Centre?
Not really. Telangana asked for NDRF relief in 2020 and some amount was approved as well. However, it could not fulfil the mandatory criteria for the funds to be disbursed.
According to an MHA report, since FY 2018-19, Telangana has sought Central assistance under the NDRF only once. In FY 2020-21 Telangana asked for Rs. 698.87 crore and the committee approved Rs. 245.96 crore.
Why didn’t Telangana receive funds despite the approval?
As per the laid down procedure, it is expected that the state would not seek relief from the Centre if there are already sufficient balanced lying unused under its own State Disaster Response Funds.
If there are already funds lying under the SDRF, the Centre will deduct 50 per cent of the unused SDRF fund (at the beginning of the financial year) from the approved amount.
For example, if the Centre approves Rs. 100 and the SDRF already has Rs. 50, then the Centre will deduct Rs. 25 and the state would be eligible only for Rs. 75.
However, there is one more condition to be met. If the SDRF already has more than double the amount for which it is eligible (after the above calculation), it will not get any funds at all. This is what happened in the case of Telangana in 2020-2021.
The amount finally approved by the Centre was Rs.245.96 crore. But on April 1, 2020, Telangana’s SDRF already had 977.67 crore in its kitty. This was almost four times the approved amount. As a result, it did not get any funds from the Centre.
Sanat Kumar Das, the state project officer for the Tripura Revenue Department explained to AFWA, “It is a common phenomenon. In the past, states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Odisha have also faced a similar situation.”
So, while Telangana has not received a penny from the NDRF since 2018, KTR placing the blame on the Centre for this is without merit.
AFWA sent a detailed questionnaire to KTR's office on July 20. At the time of writing this, they hadn't responded. We will update the story as and when we receive their comments.
(With inputs from Pathikrit Sanyal)
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