Kerala didn’t seek permission for foreign aid, union minister confirms

New Delhi: The Central Government has informed that no application has been received seeking approval for accepting foreign donations to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF),Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary stated in a written reply to a question raised by MP Adoor Prakash in the Lok Sabha.

Under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), approval is mandatory for receiving foreign donations. The Minister clarified that though the amount for the relief fund was not approved, the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund had submitted an independent application as a public charitable trust and the application was approved. However no such request has been made from the side of the Kerala government yet.

Adoor Prakash had also raised a question regarding the 2018 Kerala floods, asking whether the Centre had rejected Kerala’s request for accepting foreign aid at the time. However, the center did not give any direct response to the query.