State assures to change disaster relief manual
Monsoon rain loss mounts Rs 686 Cr, 186 die
The Jai Ram Thakur government assured to change the disaster relief manual of the state so that maximum compensation could be disbursed to the people of the state under calamities relief. This announcement was made by Revenue Minister Mohinder Singh Thakur in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday. Replying to a discussion brought under Rule 130 by the Indradutt Lakhanpal, Jagat Singh Negi and Bikram Jariyal he said that govt is sensitive to compensate the the damage caused to crops and properties due to fire in forest areas of the state and landslides and other natural calamities. Mohinder Singh said that during the monsoon so far this year, there has been a loss of Rs 685.77 crore to government and private property in incidents like heavy rain and cloudburst, while 186 people lost their lives during this period. During this, 112 animals were also killed, while 749 kutcha and pucca houses and cowsheds were damaged. He said that during the current monsoon season, the state has suffered a loss of Rs 323 crore to roads and bridges, Rs 344.26 crore to drinking water and irrigation schemes and Rs 65 lakh to Electricity Board.
Thakur said that so far the government has released Rs 232.38 crore under SDRF to various departments to compensate for the damage caused to government and private property during the current monsoon season in the state. He said that during the monsoon due to natural calamities last year, there was a loss of Rs 1151 crore to government and private property in the state, while 476 people died.The Revenue Minister said that though the compensation given to the affected due to natural calamities is very less, state government is giving more compensation than the rates of the Government of India. He said that the government has identified 675 landslide prone areas in the state and advance warning devices were installed in 30 landslides area in different districts. He said that the government would prepare an action plan to prevent landslides in the state.
Earlier, during the discussion on the proposal, the members demanded to amend the disaster relief manual and increase the relief amount so that the affected could be properly compensated. MLAs Asha Kumari, Paramjit Singh Pammi, Ram Lal Thakur, Arun Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Balbir Verma, Mohan Lal Brakta, Rajendra Rana, Sunder Singh Thakur, Nand Lal and Lakhwinder Rana also participated in the discussion.
