Opposition stages walkout from Assembly after being denied permission to discuss Rebuild Kerala Initiative

Opposition members on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Assembly after permission was denied to discuss Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI), launched for rebuilding the flood-affected areas in the State.

The Opposition alleged that the State government had failed to effectively implement rebuilding initiatives in flood-affected areas in a time-bound manner.

In a reply in the House regarding the status of the project, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that government cannot rush with the RKI and it would take three years to complete it.

"The first installment of loan sanctioned by the World Bank for RKI of Rs 1,740 crore has already been released. The procedure for obtaining the second installment is in progress. Eight meetings of the high-level panel have already been held. Total projects worth Rs 1,850 crore have been given in-principle approval. These include projects in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, road and water supply," the Chief Minister said.

"Administrative sanction has also been granted for projects worth Rs 827 crore. In the current budget Rs 1,000 crore has been provided for rebuild Kerala initiative," he added.

Pinarayi Vijayan said that with the help of global experts, the Rebuild Kerala Development Programme (RKDP) was conceived as a comprehensive action plan. "These assessments indicated that it would take more than three years to complete the restoration and rebuilding process," he said.

Giving details of spending from the Chief Minister's relief fund after the floods, Vijayan said, "After 2018 floods, Rs 4,765.27 crore came as donations in CM's relief fund. Of this, Rs 2630.68 crore has been spent. For village road development, Rs 961.26 has been set apart."

Based on the Chief Minister's reply, the Speaker denied permission for discussion following which the Opposition staged a walkout.