THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The unity shown by the state in the wake of the flood havoc should be displayed in the post-flood reconstruction of the state, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Inaugurating a workshop organised by the Kerala Grama Panchayat Association and Kerala Institute of Local Administration for the grama panchayat presidents and secretaries here, he said the UN delegation has put the loss of the state at Rs 31,000 crore. However, the state is eligible to get only Rs 4,796 crore as per Central norms and the state has to find an additional Rs 26,000 for its rebuilding.
If the Centre had allowed the state to receive the Rs 700 crore assistance offered by the UAE, Kerala would have received several thousand crore as many more counties would have followed suit. But the state has not only lost the opportunity, but it has to find new ways to rebuild the state, he said.
CMDRF has received around Rs 2000 crore so far and the state is planning to source more money though crowd funding and ideas through ‘idea hunt,’ he said. The state is also planning to rebuild a new Kerala rather than create an existing Kerala. Apart from the physical damage, the biodiversity of the state was affected by the flood in a big way and technical help has to be sought to undo the damage, he said.
The government is exploring ways to help those who lost their means of livelihood. The Kerala society showed extraordinary commitment during the time of flood and all the government departments, fishermen community and the youth in general helped the state get back to normalcy. The momentum has to be carried forward and the local government bodies have a major role in post-flood sanitation activities, he said.
While preparing new projects, the lessons learnt from the flood have to be applied, said LSG Minister A C Moideen, who presided over the function. Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan, Health Minister K K Shylaja and others attended.