Recently, the Union government has permitted the Kerala government to utilize Rs.120 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for rehabilitation measures at Wayanad.
SDRF – It is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters.
Established in – 2005, under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Home Affairs.
Immediate relief – SDRF shall be used only for meeting the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the victims.
Funding – It is based on the recommendations of the Financial Commissions.
Contributions to the fund – It is made by the Central Government and State Governments to all the states.
For all states expect North-Eastern and Himalayan States – The contribution is made by the Central Government and State Governments in the ratio of 75:25.
For North-Eastern and Himalayan States – The contribution is in the ratio 90:10 for union government and states.
The Himalayan states includes Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.
2 equal installments – The annual central contribution is released in 2 equal installments as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission.
Local Disasters – A State Government may use up to 10% of the funds available under the SDRF, which they consider to be ‘disasters’ within the local context in the State.
They are not included in the notified list of disasters of the Ministry of Home Affairs and should be a listed state specific natural disasters of a state.
State specific natural disasters – The State Government has listed the State specific natural disasters and notified clear and transparent norms and guidelines for such disasters with the approval of the State Authority, i.e. the State Executive Authority (SEC).
