Kerala Floods: High Court rejects plea for allowing foreign aid

The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking a directive to the Centre to accept foreign aid for relief operations in flood-ravaged state, saying it cannot interfere in policy matters of the government.

Rejecting the plea by Arun Joseph, a division bench of Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar observed that the court cannot interfere in the matter as receiving foreign aid as it was something related to the government's foreign policy.

The bench also said the petitioner did not have any solid proof regarding the overseas aid offered to Kerala in the wake of the floods.

The petitioner sought a direction to the central government to receive foreign aid for flood relief operations in the state.

Last week, the central government had made it clear that it will not accept any assistance from foreign governments for flood-ravaged Kerala in sync with an existing policy.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said the government was committed to meeting the requirements for relief and rehabilitation in Kerala through domestic efforts.

A number of countries have announced assistance for flood relief operations in Kerala.