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| Let Omar accept something is better than nothing | | | If former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, is not satisfied with the quantum of compensation and relief to flood victims he may not be wrong because against the loss assessment report submitted by the previous NC-Congress to the Congress led UPA Government the amount sanctioned by the BJP led NDA Government is not even !/8th of the amount sought by the previous Omar led Government. The previous NC led Government had sought a Rs.44,000 crore package from the Central Government for relief and reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir which had been ravaged by unprecedented floods in Sept ember 2014. Neither the Congress led UPA Government nor the BJP led NDA Government has accepted the veracity of the loss assessment report sent by the previous NC-Congress coalition Government. That the successive Central Governments did not accept the authenticity of the report is based on one factor. The central Governments were told that it was impossible for a Government to finalise a report on the loss assessment within 10 days when hardly any senior functionaries and experts have toured the flood hit areas. There were reports that the loss assessment report had been compiled within the civil Secretariat premises.
Whatever may be the causes for preparing a Rs.44,000 crore loss assessment report without carrying out a proper survey is not as import ant as the issue why Omar Abdullah could not motivate the Congress led UPA Government to release part of the money required for relief and reconstruction? He seems to have taken the flood damage to people in the state lightly with the result he failed to mount pressure on the Congress led Government in the Centre when he was in power for over three months. Against that the BJP led NDA Government has announced an additional amount of Rs 1,667 crore as part of the short-term relief and reconstruction measures for flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir. Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced the package while addressing a press conference in Delhi.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "Last year, Rs 2,602 crore had been released (for J&K). Other than this, Rs 2,437 crore will be released this (financial) year." Later in the evening, the Home Ministry released an official statement saying a sum of Rs 1,667 crore has been approved, leading to some confusion. Rajnath said: "A sum of Rs 1,602 crore had already been released from the National Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster Response Fund for immediate relief to the flood-affected families. And, Rs 1,000 crore has been released as Additional Special Plan Assistance and Rs 770 crore under the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF). After today's grant, a total of Rs 5,039 crore has been provided for short-term relief and reconstruction measures for the state. Well Rs.5039 crores are too inadequate to help flood hit people to receive compensation and for reconstruction of damaged infrastructure. But something is better than nothing should be seen by Omar Abdullah. In fact there is need for the Government of India to release additional financial help for flood affected people on the basis of the loss assessment survey that was carried out by a couple of World Bank teams. Another issue that the centre needs to take cognizance of is fears mounting in the region of Jammu that major portion of the central aid may be spent only in the Kashmir valley when landslides and flash floods had caused sever damage to infrastructure, both private and Government, and loss to human life in the Jammu region. |
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