The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : No tsunami-hit family entitled to 2 houses: officer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 13, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

No tsunami-hit family entitled to 2 houses: officer

Special Correspondent

Government will provide infrastructure in all settlements: Shankar "If a family wants a new house, it will have to surrender the old one, whether fully or partly damaged"

CHENNAI: Can two fishermen families who lived under the same roof before the tsunami destroyed their home be allotted one house each? Will the Government reimburse the amount non-governmental organisations spend on infrastructure work? Will it have the infrastructure in place by the time permanent shelters are ready?

These were some of the questions that grassroots workers and managers asked C.V. Shankar, Special Officer for Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation, at a meeting organised here on Wednesday by Caritas India, the national organisation of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India for social development.

Mr. Shankar made it clear that no family will be entitled for two houses. If a family wanted a new house it would have to surrender the old one, whether partly or fully damaged.

In the case of two families living under the same roof, the situation was tricky.

The intention was to help people lead normal lives which would be kept in mind while advising District Collectors.

`Impossible to frame policy'

He said it was impossible to frame a policy on this issue because once it is in place it would encourage people to make fresh demands. The best way to handle this was on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Shankar said the Government would provide the infrastructure in the settlements. But there was a provision where the NGO could spend the money and get it reimbursed by the World Bank. But it had to carryout the work as per bank guidelines.

Mr. Shankar said the Government was keen to expedite the process of providing the infrastructure. Wherever possible local construction materials and labour were being used.

Caritas India sought to avoid duplication and render service to the needy in time, said Varghese Mattamana, assistant executive director of the organisation. Nelson, head, Emergency Disaster Management Services department at Caritas India, gave a presentation on the tsunami relief and rehabilitation activities of the organisation.

In Tamil Nadu, Caritas is working through local diocesan social service society in 161 villages in 10 districts, said Xavier, director, Tamil Nadu Regional Forum.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu