PATNA: Bihar government has presented preliminary reports on the damage caused by recent floods to the Central government team that visited the state on Wednesday. Various departments of the state government have made an initial assessment of flood-related losses at around Rs 10,000 crore.
The team, led by Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, assessed the situation and would submit its report to the Centre.
The preliminary report was submitted to the team during a high-level meeting held in Patna. Bihar's Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and senior officials of different departments were present at the meeting.
The actual damage to crops, roads and other infrastructure will be assessed after the floodwaters recede.
The final report is expected to be prepared after October 15, and the estimated losses could increase further. A memorandum detailing the damage will subsequently be submitted to the Centre, a senior official said.
Departments, including Water Resources, Public Health Engineering, Disaster Management, and Dairy, Fisheries and Animal Resources made detailed presentations before Chouhan on the damage caused by the floods in the state.
Reports from the Education, Health, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Road Construction and Rural Works departments will be prepared after the floodwaters recede.
Officials said Chouhan indicated that an inter-ministerial team would be sent to Bihar once the water level falls. Before that, the state government will submit a memorandum to the Centre containing details of the losses. Teams will be sent to all districts to assess the damage at the local level.
Deputy Chief Ministers--Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Yadav, ministers Vijay Kumar Sinha, Ratnesh Sada and Sunil Kumar, and Chief Minister's Principal Secretary Deepak Kumar were among those present at the meeting held at Lok Sevak Awas.
Chouhan said the Centre would provide full support to the Samrat Choudhary government for a permanent solution to Bihar's flood problem. "The Centre stands with the state government in helping Bihar overcome the crisis," he added.
Speaking to the media, Chouhan said he had visited Bihar on the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of the massive destruction caused by floods.
The rural development minister also interacted with flood-affected people and children at relief camps being run at the Higher Secondary School in Sitakund, Naugachhia, Munger, and at the Polytechnic College ground in Bhagalpur.
The Water Resources Department said the marginal embankment at Raghopur in Bhagalpur would be reconstructed. It also said an embankment in the Bihar stretch near the Valmikinagar barrage on the Gandak River had weakened and needed repairs due to the risk of a breach.
This year, several small embankments along the Punpun river in Patna were breached because of the high water level, while water also began flowing over embankments at several locations. The department has decided to raise the height of the Punpun embankment and all other embankments where water overtopped them before the next monsoon.
Special repairs will also be carried out on embankments passing close to populated areas, the officials said.
The Agriculture Department reported crop damage over around 1.5 lakh hectares. Paddy and maize, as well as vegetable and banana crops, suffered the most damage. Applications for input subsidies will be invited after the water recedes and a detailed assessment is completed.
Under the existing provision, farmers are eligible for an input subsidy of Rs 8,500 per hectare for crop losses in unirrigated areas and Rs 17,000 per hectare in irrigated areas. For sugarcane, a multi-year crop, the subsidy is Rs 22,500 per hectare. Assistance is limited to a maximum of two hectares per farmer.
The department is also preparing to provide seeds of alternative crops, including peas and mustard, to farmers in the affected areas.
The CM said the union minister and his team would brief Modi about the situation they had observed during their visit. He said a comprehensive assessment of the damage would be completed before Durga Puja, and a detailed report would be sent to the Centre.