Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Rs. 13 crore for flood relief is a pittance, says Dharam Singh

Special Correspondent

`State Government failed to provide timely relief to flood-affected people'

UNDER WATER: Former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh inspecting the damage to an agriculture field owing to flood in the Bhima at Kattisangavi village in Jewargi taluk of Gulbarga district on Sunday.

GULBARGA: Leader of the Opposition N. Dharam Singh on Sunday disputed the statement of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on the relocation of villages on the banks of Krishna, Ghataprabha and Bhima rivers prone to recurring floods and the actual amount sought from the Centre for rehabilitation.

`Misinformed'

Mr. Singh who was on a visit to the flood-hit areas in Gulbarga, Afsalpur and Jewargi taluks on the banks of the Bhima, told presspersons that the Chief Minister was apparently misinformed by officials about the proposal sent by the Government for relocation of these villages. He said last year when he was the Chief Minister, the State Government had submitted a proposal seeking Rs.1,457 crore for shifting these villages to safe places as a permanent solution to the recurring flood and also provide them all infrastructure in the relocated villages.

He said the Union Government had released Rs. 157 crore to the State Government for relocation of the affected villages. However, this amount has not been utilised for the purpose it was released so far. The Chief Minister, while reviewing the flood situation in the Gulbarga district, had announced that the State Government had sought Rs. 288 crore from the Union Government for relocating these villages and so far no money has been released.

Mr. Singh said the State Government had failed to provide timely relief to the affected people in the flood-hit villages in Belgaum, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Raichur and Gulbarga districts. The Rs. 13 crore released for taking up the relief operations in the affected villages in these five districts was a pittance when compared to the enormity of the problem.

He said last year when he was the Chief Minister, in a similar situation the Government had released Rs. 42 crore for Gulbarga district for relief operations in the affected areas and repair of roads damaged in the rain. Besides this, Belgaum, which was the worst-affected last year also, was given Rs. 109 crore and Bijapur was provided Rs. 30 crore.

Mr. Singh said the Government should also take up drought relief works in other parts of the district which were reeling under severe drought. The farmers who had burnt their fingers owing to the failure of the short-duration cash crops such as green gram and kharif crops should be adequately compensated.

He said the situation was also not favourable for the bi-seasonal red gram crop, which is the mainstay of Gulbarga district, owing to the failure of the rain. Mr. Singh alleged laxity on the part of the Government to prepare a memorandum seeking additional funds under the Calamity Relief Fund.

Mr. Singh said he would raise all these issues at the meeting convened by the Chief Minister on August 13.

He said if the State Government failed to submit a memorandum seeking additional relief from the Union Government during the all party leaders' visit to New Delhi on August 8 to meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Union Ministers on the border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra, the Congress would submit a memorandum seeking relief funds to Prime Minister.

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