It is strange that there is no end to the drill over making an assessment of loses suffered by people in Jammu and Kashmir owing to unprecedented floods and landslides in September, 2014 in which about 300 people had lost their lives.Over a year has passed and there is no sight of any financial package for the state's flood affected people.Neither there is no word about compensation to those who lost their houses,nor there is any word about the amount sanctioned by the central Government for rebuilding the basic infrastructure damaged by the floods and landslides.The latest is a report from the NITI Ayog,as good as the planning commission, which has reduced the quantum of flood aid from Rs. 44,000 crores, submitted by the previous National-Conference coalition Government to the centre to Rs. 11,000 crores. How the NITI Ayog has come to the conclusion, that Rs.11,000 crores were sufficient is a mystery? This is so because the world Bank has assessed the loss to the tune of Rs.22,000 crores.
In fact the Finance Minister, Haseeb Drabu has said the NITI Ayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission, has slashed the Rs 44000 crore flood rehabilitation package to Rs 11000 crores.Responding to the accusation of NC MLA, Ali Muhammad Sagar during Zero Hour in Assembly that government was not serious about the rehabilitation of flood-affected people, Drabu said out of the Rs 44,000 crore relief package submitted by previous NC-Congress coalition government to the Centre, Rs 20,000 crore was earmarked for reconstruction of the damaged government infrastructure and no assistance was sought to compensate traders.However, opposition members including Sagar, Mian Altaf and Akbar Lone rose to protest Drabu's remarks triggering the verbal duel between PDP and NC members. Accusing Drabu of misleading the House, Sagar said, "I was present in the cabinet meeting in which we had recommended a comprehensive package for the rehabilitation of flood affected people."After Sagar's diatribe, Drabu said officials couldn't pursue the flood package due lack of direction from the political leadership, apparently making a reference to the delay in the government formation.
Since the BJP led NDA Government had,right from its taking over the Government in the centre,stated that the Rs.44,000 crore loss assessment, submitted by the previous NC-Congress coalition Government,was on a higher side, it should have banked on the World Bank assessment. The World Bank had sent two teams, one for the Kashmir valley and the other for the region of Jammu,for carrying out a detailed survey of the flood losses.As such its report on loss assessment could have been more accurate than the one submitted to the centre by the previous NC-Congress coalition Government. It was therefore,wise on the part of the central Government and the NITI Ayog to depend on the World Bank report.It has not.The result is expected to be damaging for the BJP in the state.The BJP,which for the first time,has shared power with the PDP,because of peoples' support to the party from the region of Jammu allowing it to win 25 seats out of 37 in the region. In addition to this,the BJP has started gaining its foothold in the Kashmir valley but its failure to get required and timely financial package for granting compensation to flood hit people and for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure could prove an Achilees heel for the BJP.The BJP seems to have become more vulnerable to public anger for its failure to get AIIMS for the state.The BJP leadership in the centre can still make up for the losses the party in Jammu and Kashmir has suffered during the last 10 months if it starts distributing compensation amount to flood hit people and starts work on two AIIMS. |
