'No provision for declaring flood as national calamity'
Compensation to be given in a time-bound manner
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the long-standing demand by various organizations to declare Assam's flood and erosion problem as a 'national calamity' is an "emotional demand" which has cannot be implemented because there is no such provision in the National Disaster Management Manual.
Talking to mediapersons here, Sarma said that as per the manual, natural disasters are classified as 'severe calamity', 'less severe calamity' etc, by the Government of India and financial assistance is provided accordingly to various states. He further informed that the Centre has categorized this year's floods in Assam as a 'severe calamity' and has assured to provide sufficient funds to cope with the damage caused by flood and erosion in the state.
The Chief Minister said that the two waves in the state between April and this month created a challenging situation for the Government in view of their unprecedented scale. He asserted that the state government did all that was required to be done during the time of crisis. "We worked in a systematic and organized way and as a result the flood-affected have already started getting their due compensation," Sarma said.
He said that a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each has been provided to the next of kin of the 195 people who died due to flood and landslides in the last few months. He also said that 37 persons are still missing across the state and if they cannot be located within a reasonable period of time, then they will be declared as flood-related fatalities and compensation will be provided to their respective families.
The Chief Minister informed that the government has deposited Rs 3,800 each in the bank accounts of around 1.8 lakh families who are living in relief camps and other shelters, so that they can buy utensils etc.
Sarma said that the government is now according priority to preparing lists of houses damaged in the flood. According to the data collected so far in this regard, 25,670 houses have been either fully or severely damaged in the flood-affected areas. Besides, 2.78 lakh houses have been partially damaged, he said, adding that out of these 1.63 lakh houses are located in the Cachar district alone.
The Chief Minister said that after verification of the lists of damaged houses, the government's target is to deposit the compensation amounts in the bank accounts of the eligible victims by August 15. Around Rs 400 crore will be needed for the purpose, he said.
Sarma said that after the compensation phase, the next phase will be repair of damaged infrastructure, which will begin after September. A fund of Rs 1,000 crore has been initially earmarked for the repair works, he added.
Sarma further observed that no expert has been so far able to suggest a way to prevent floods in the state. However, ways can be evolved to mitigate and manage floods better, he said.
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