Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Tsunami fund for all schools: Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy has alleged treachery by the Left Democratic Front government in the implementation of the tsunami-rehabilitation scheme.

In a statement here on Saturday, he said the government had claimed that the Centre had directed it to give the assistance only to government schools under the scheme for rebuilding basic facilities. It had now been proven that the claim was a lie.

He said a letter from the Planning Commission to the Principal Secretary, Revenue, on the issue gave no such direction. The Centre’s disclosure came at a time when Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran and Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran were speaking about it repeatedly.

He said Rs. 8 crore had been sanctioned for providing basic facilities in 53 schools in Alappuzha district. Aided schools were excluded from the list, though the tsunami had damaged several of them. But schools untouched by the tsunami found a place in the list.

He alleged that it was a politically motivated list, and charged the government with having betrayed the coastal area at the Centre’s expense. He wanted to know what the government had to say now that the truth was out.

Mr. Chandy said the government had not been able to utilise the Rs. 1,441.75 crore sanctioned by financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank through the Centre for improving living conditions and basic facilities of lakhs of fisherfolk in the coastal areas. These schemes were to be completed by 2009.

He said people’s representatives were excluded from the meetings on the implementation of the scheme.

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