Centre cannot cite deleted DM Act provision to deny loan waiver to Wayanad landslide victims: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court orally observed that the Union Government cannot claim it is powerless to direct a loan waiver for victims of the Wayanad landslide merely because Section 13 of the Disaster Management (DM) Act has been removed.

A division bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice PM Manoj, while hearing a suo motu case initiated by the High Court following the massive landslides that hit Wayanad in July last year, stated on Friday that the Union Government could still rely on Article 73 of the Constitution in such situations.

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“Please do not tell us that the Centre is powerless (in the wake of the removal of Section 13 from the DM Act). The Centre still retains its power to act, as it does not derive its authority solely from the DM Act. Do not hide behind the removal of a legal provision to claim that the Centre lacks the power to act,” the court said.

The court granted the Union Government three weeks to take a decision on the loan waiver and file its response.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the Union Government informed the High Court that Section 13—empowering the National Disaster Management Authority to recommend that banks waive or write off loans, or grant fresh loans to individuals affected by disasters of severe magnitude—had been removed from the DM Act through an amendment.