Members cutting across party lines in Odisha assembly on Monday criticised the state government for its failure to undertake restoration and rehabilitation work in the aftermath of Cyclone Fani.
Participating on a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion, the members alleged that the government totally failed in restoration and rehabilitation work.
Even around two months after Cyclone Fani hit the state, electricity, drinking water, road communications, LI points have not been restored and people are living a miserable life,the members said. They said pisciculture, coconut , cashew and betel nut farmers were badly affected.
The list prepared by the government for distributing house damage assistance was faulty,the legislators said and demanded to re examine the list and provide assistance at the earliest.
Bishnu Sethi (BJP) said the government might have shifted people and provide relief but it failed in restoration and rehabilitation of the cyclone affected people. He said 64 people have lost their lives in the cyclone and wanted to know how many families of the deceased have got the assistance from the government. The BJP MLA appealed to the government to undertake restoration and rehabilitation work on war footing and urged the revenue and disaster management minister to provide assistance to the affected people at the earliest.
Pradip Maharathy (BJD) said there were around 60 to 70 per cent mistake in the house damage assistance list and demanded the government to re examine it. He said no inquiry has yet been made about the loss of livestock and no plan has yet been made for evacuation of rain water.
Suresh Routray (Congress) said officials engaged in the enumeration of the damaged houses have failed to prepare the list of the damage houses. He demanded to review the list and to provide plants to people to compensate the loss of trees in the cyclone.
Jayant Kumar Sarangi (BJP) said many people were deprived of getting the house damaged assistance due to faulty in assessment prepared by the officials. He said the electricity has not yet reached even the periphery villages of the Puri town and requested the government to ensure that all affected people receive assistance.
Md Moquim (Congress) said thousands of trees uprooted in the cyclone have not yet been removed. Roads damaged in the cyclone are yet to be repaired and street lights not yet restored in Cuttack city. He also appealed to recheck the house damage list and suggested laying of underground cable as a permanent solution to the electricity problem.
Sukanta Kumar Naik (BJP) demanded a time frame for the restoration and rehabilitation work.
Treasury bench members Ananta Narayan Jena, Umakant Samantaray and Rajendra Kumar Sahu, however, defended the government. They said the government had done excellent work and it was appreciated by UNO and other world organsiations. The Prime Minister has also appreciated the work and asked other states to learn from Odisha as to how to manage calamity, they said.
Rajendra Kumar Sahu (BJD) said it was very unfortunate that while the Prime Minister praised the work of the Odisha government his party was bringing the adjournment motion against the state government for its failure in handling Cyclone Fani aftermath.
Revenue and disaster management minister Sudam Marndi in his reply said 94 per cent of restoration and rehabilitation work by the government has already been completed. He said out of 64 people who died in Cyclone FANI, assistance has been given to 53 families so far. The rest of the families would be given assistance on receipts of reports from the collectors.
Marndi said the chief minister had announced a package for the restoration of livelihood of people affected by Cyclone Fani. The government has waived cess for 2019-20 and water tax where the crop loss was more than 33 per cent. Direction has been given to implement a five-year plan revival of coastal shelter belt and afforestation programme . A sum of Rs.200 crore would be spent over a period of five years on the project, the minister said.
Earlier in the day, agitated Opposition Congress members disrupted the question hour in the assembly protesting against non-acceptance of their adjournment motion on failure of the government in post Cyclone Fani operations by speaker S.N. Patro. The Congress members demanded a clarification from the speaker as to why their notice for adjournment on farmers issue given four days back was not taken up for discussion. (UNI)
