Accepting foreign aid for relief work is not honourable when the nation has sufficient money to rebuild Kerala, says 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan
Thiruvananthapuram: 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan said on Tuesday that the clamour for an economic help from the UAE (which was never offered by that country in the first place) for rebuilding flood-ravaged Kerala and rehabilitating people was a shame for India.
"Currently, India has sufficient funds to rebuild Kerala. Within seven to eight years, Kerala can be rebuilt well," said Sreedharan to MyNation, while adding that Rs 700 crore is an amount that India could easily arrange for ― especially for the Union government that handled a Rs 12 lakh crore budget. "Moreover that relief money from the UAE wasn't even confirmed," he said.
Sreedharan stressed that there needed to be a proper presentation of data before the Centre. "They will assess the State as well as the data and, accordingly, release funds," he said.
Does it mean that the State government is not doing enough, keeping in mind reports of mismanagement of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund?
"I won't be able to comment on that," he said and added, "Generally the chief minister's fund is meant for smaller cases of tragedy, and calamity of this nature is quite unprecedented in Kerala."
Sreedharan alleged that mistakes in the weather forecast, the opening of dam and encroachments were other reasons for the flood. The dams in Kerala should have been opened before the rains intensified. There was no need to increase the water storage and protect that level, he said.
"A committee with full authority should be appointed for building a new Kerala. If the government demands, I can give the required advice," he said.
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