HYDERABAD: Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday undertook a whirlwind tour of several flood-affected areas in the city. He assured residents that the government would extend any sort of assistance required.
He assured that the financial assistance that has been announced is temporary, and the government was ready to provide further financial help to those whose houses had suffered full/partial damage.
The Minister visited localities in Lalapet of Secunderabad, Boduppal, Amberpet, Nallakunta and Ramanthapur, and took the stock of the situation. He inspected the damaged thatched houses, and distributed Rs 10,000 to some flood victims. He inquired about the food and medical assistance provided to the residents.“At these testing times, the government is committed to extend support as much as possible.
As the rains have subsided, the flood relief activities are going at a fast pace. We have increased the number of teams which would go door-to-door to disburse the financial aid,” Rama Rao said. The Minister has instructed officials to take steps to drain out the stormwater at waterlogged areas.
Later, the Minister visited a rehabilitation camp which was set up in a government school at Boddupal. Officials informed the Minister that they have arranged food to flood-affected people who are currently residing at the camp, and also outside the camp. The Minister also inspected the repair works at Nallacheruvu spillway, and directed officials to complete the works at the earliest.
Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has directed officials to constitute 300 teams in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits and 50 teams in neighbouring municipalities to distribute financial assistance to households affected by the recent floods without any delay.
He also directed officials to set up a control room in GHMC and in the office of the CDMA to monitor the distribution of relief money. Kumar, in a meeting on Wednesday, asked officials to prepare route-plans and mobilise manpower from districts.
THE Telangana High Court on Wednesday refused to pass any orders or grant permission to move a lunch motion petition seeking direction to the State government to provide the relief of `10,000 by way of bank deposit or online transfer instead of cash payment.When advocate P Shashi Kiran sought permission to move a lunch motion petition, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy rejected the plea.Shashi Kiransaid payments in cash would give scope for misappropriation of public money. “The government’s decision to distribute the rain-relief funds in the form of cash lacks accountability and transparency and gives scope for misuse of the same.