2008 flood : Govt turns the tide on Centre

Expressbuzz, 21st December, 2008

Strongly rebutting the Opposition charge that the unprecedented flood in 2008 was man-made, Urban Development Minister KV Singhdeo asserted that there was no violation of rule curve of the Hirakud reservoir.
Replying to the debate on the flood situation, the Minister said that as per the rule curve, the minimum and maximum water level in the reservoir on September 1 should be 619 ft and 127 ft respectively. The level in the reservoir was 624.81 ft on that day, he said.
The Minister observed that pre-depletion of water from the reservoir would have been irrational and affected power generation and irrigation. Stating that a number of steps have been initiated by the State Government to check floods, he said 29 dams have been proposed on the tributaries and downstream of the Mahanadi while six dams will be constructed upstream.
The Opposition, however, walked out dissatisfied with the reply of the Minister.
Criticising the double standard of the Centre in releasing flood assistance for the State, the Minister said that the then home minister Shivraj Patil announced Rs 500 crore for relief and reconstruction after making an aerial of the flood affected areas. However, only Rs 98 cr has been released.
But in the case of Bihar and Assam, the Centre promptly released Rs 1,000 cr and Rs 300 cr. In 2007, no assistance was provided by the Centre while in 2006 only Rs 25 cr was provided even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced assistance of Rs 200 cr. He announced that Central team led by O. Ravi, joint secretary in the Ministry of Home would visit the State shortly to take stock of the damage due to the flood.
However, criticising the State Government for its inept handling of the flood situation, deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party Narasingh Mishra demanded a Vigilance inquiry into the mishandling of funds meant for flood.
Referring to the State Government demand for more flood assistance money, Mishra said it is not able to spend the existing fund of CRF. Alleging that the Government has neglected Western Orissa districts which also had flood, he wanted to know the funds released for Boudh, Sonepur, Balangir, Kalahandi and Bargarh districts.
Mishra alleged that at many places flood protection embankments were washed away because of sub-standard work.
Addressing mediapersons, Leader of Opposition JB Patnaik said that the Minister did not mention anything on flood protection measures in Baitarani, Ib and Subarnarekha rivers. He observed that the Government’s allegation that the Centre discriminated against Orissa is politically motivated.