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The Kerala High Court on Wednesday, October 8, came down heavily on the Union government for refusing to waive the loans of the survivors of the devastating Wayanad 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 division bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian expressed deep disappointment, observing that the Union government “failed the people of Kerala” and remarking that the state could “do without the ‘charity’ of the Union government.”
The Union government had told the court that there are no legal provisions allowing loan waivers for survivors of natural disasters. “There is limitation for the Ministry to involve in the activities, commercial transactions of banks, which are regulated by the guidelines of RBI,” the Union reportedly submitted.
This indicated the Union government’s unwillingness to act, the court responded, adding that the government should show the courage to admit to it. “Now if it is an unwillingness to act, you must have the courage to say that and not hide behind this veil of lack of power. Anybody who reads the Constitution should understand this, who are you trying to fool?” the court said, according to LiveLaw.
The court also listed Union government assistance handed out to other states to establish that it was not a case of the government lacking funds. It noted, “A High Level Committee has approved Rs 707.97 cr of additional central assistance to the states of Assam and Gujarat, which were affected by floods and landslides during the year 2024. Both these floods and landslides were not categorised as severe… The committee also approves Rs 903.67 cr to Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan for expansion, modernisation of fire service… But at least the people should know that when it comes to moments like this, the Union Government has failed the people, at least of this state.”
The bench further criticised the Union government and told the government lawyer. “We had made it very clear that it is not a situation where the union is powerless to act. By this affidavit, you've clearly shown again that you are hiding behind this power argument, you're saying that you are powerless to act. Why is that being done?" Bar and Bench reported.
However, the court said that it will not issue directions to the Union government. “Our sense of Constitutional morality requires us to respect the principle of separation of powers and therefore, we will not issue directions to the Union government,” it said, adding, “Enough is enough. We don't need the Union's charity.”
Instead, it asked for a list of banks controlled by the Union government and orally stated that it would “implead those banks and issue notices to them while staying the recovery action for the time being.”
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi said she couldn’t agree more with the court’s observation that the Union government has failed the survivors. “The government’s refusal to waive the loans of those affected by the devastating Wayanad landslides of 2024 is shocking. Especially while the loans of certain large business houses are waived without hesitation. These loans represent the lives of people who have endured unimaginable pain for no fault of theirs- they total up to a minuscule amount in comparison,” she stated.
Earlier in August, the Kerala HC gave a final opportunity to the Union government to inform them of their decision over the loan waiver by September 10. The court had also criticised the Union government for delaying the decision.
The Kerala Bank had already written off the loans of the landslide-hit residents.