BHUBANESWAR: The State Government submitted a preliminary memorandum seeking central assistance of Rs 1,100 crore for damage caused by the recent floods. The memorandum was submitted to an inter-ministerial central team visiting the State during a wrap-up meeting here on Thursday.
As per the preliminary estimate, the total loss caused to different sectors was estimated at around Rs 1,100 crore. A final memorandum will be prepared within 10-12 days taking an account of the mitigation measures, said a note from the office of the Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.“The mitigation measures are being worked out and will be indicated in the final memorandum,” said SRC PK Jena. After visiting four flood-affected districts, the six-member central team had a meeting with senior officers of the Government under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary.
Appraising the team about damaged caused by the heavy rainfall and consequent floods, the Chief Secretary highlighted the need for long term measures like robust embankment and resilient power infrastructure. He highlighted the heavy damage caused to agriculture and horticulture crops.
The SRC told the central team that about 13.87 lakh population were marooned and crop in around 3.11 lakh hectare (ha) land was affected. About 2.25 lakh ha of cropland have suffered more than 33 percent damage. Similarly, about 1.2 lakh houses have suffered damages to various degrees.
The team appreciated the efforts of the Government and also agreed to the suggestion to consider supporting the state not only in response as per SDRF norm but also include mitigation measures like strengthening of embankments, construction of new embankments, disaster-resilient housing support against damaged houses and other infrastructure.
The team headed by Joint Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs Praveen Vashista visited flood-hit areas on Wednesday and Thursday.