Kerala could miss out on the Centre's share of the Disaster Mitigation Fund as it has yet to furnish the requisite utilization certificate, warned the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Centre's share is Rs 62.80 crore which had been released to the state in 2020-21 and 2021-22. The allocation of state disaster management funds, including the state's share is Rs 83.80 crore.
Additional Secretary to the Home Department, Hitesh Kumar Makwana, notified this in a letter addressed to the state chief secretary.
"... the state government has not shared requisite information/utilization certificate for the release of central share of State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) for the year 2022-23 so far," the letter said
It further states that the Centre's share due this year shall be released upon fulfilling the condition of the guidelines.
The state governments are required to furnish the utilization certificate to the Minister of Finance and the Home Ministry in April and October every year. The states must provide statements of up-to-date expenditures and the balance amounts available.
The fund is to be spent only on mitigation activities that are not covered under any of the existing plan schemes. The provision for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction are not part of the mitigation fund.
A government release dated March 15, states that the Centre's share of up to Rs 1,345.80 crore has been released to various states, with Maharashtra receiving Rs 644.40 crore and Uttar Pradesh getting Rs 386.60 crore.
