• The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court by filing a lawsuit alleging that its funds for natural disasters are withheld by the Centre. 

• The M.K. Stalin-led DMK government has invoked Article 131 of the Constitution for filing an original suit against the Centre in the top court.

• The state government urged the Supreme Court to direct the Centre to provide over Rs 37,000 crore in aid for damages caused by recent floods and cyclone Michaung.

What is Article 131?

It deals with the original jurisdiction of the SC. Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the SC shall, to the exclusion of any other court, have original jurisdiction in any dispute

(a) between the government of India and one or more states; or

(b) between the government of India and any state or states on one side and one or more other states on the other; or

(c) between two or more states, if and in so far as the dispute involves any question (whether of law or fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends: Provided that the said jurisdiction shall not extend to a dispute arising out of any treaty, agreement, covenant, engagements and or other similar instrument which, having been entered into or executed before the commencement of this Constitution, continues in operation after such commencement, or which provides that the said jurisdiction shall not extend to such a dispute.

It means that Article 131 gives the SC original jurisdiction - meaning the SC can hear the case first hand rather than reviewing a lower court’s judgment - to mediate disputes between states or between the Centre and states.

State Disaster Response Fund

• The primary responsibility for disaster management rests with the state governments concerned.

• The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), constituted under Section 48(1)(a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, is the primary fund available with state governments for responses to notified disasters. 

• SDRF is administered as per the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions set up under the Article 280 of the Constitution of India. 

• The ministry of home affairs has issued guidelines for the operation of SDRF.

• The financing for relief expenditure is based on the recommendations of the Finance Commission.

• Financial assistance is provided to the state government from SDRF as per the established procedure, for meeting the expenditure on relief provided to people affected by notified disasters. 

• The central government contributes 75 per cent of SDRF allocation for general category states/UTs and 90 per cent for special category states/UTs (northeast states, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir). 

• The annual central contribution is released in two equal instalments as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission. 

• SDRF shall be used only for meeting the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the victims.

Disasters covered under SDRF: Cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold waves.

Local disaster: A state government may use up to 10 per cent of the funds available under the SDRF for providing immediate relief to the victims of natural disasters that they consider to be ‘disasters’ within the local context in the state and which are not included in the notified list of disasters of the ministry of home affairs subject to the condition that the state government has listed the state specific natural disasters and notified clear and transparent norms and guidelines for such disasters with the approval of the State Authority — the State Executive Authority (SEC).

• The NDRF supplements SDRF of a state, in case of a disaster of severe nature, provided adequate funds are not available in SDRF.

National Disaster Response Fund

• The National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) was constituted under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. 

• The central government has laid out the modalities for receipt of contributions/grants from any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management in the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005.

Section 46 of the DM Act says that: 

1) The central government may, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a fund to be called the National Disaster Response Fund for meeting any threatening disaster situation or disaster and there shall be credited thereto —

(a) An amount which the central government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, provide.

(b) Any grants that may be made by any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management.

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