Karnataka: Rehabilitation and rebuilding after floods have govt gasping for a fix

BENGALURU: After the unprecedented rain and floods in Karnataka, rehabilitation and reconstruction — rebuilding infrastructure and care for those displaced — will be among the biggest challenges the state has faced.
There is a long road ahead and the policies of the state and Centre will only pose impediments to the process. Unlike in the 2009 floods in North Karnataka or 2018 rain and landslides in Kodagu, the recent rain, floods and landslides have affected 22 of the state’s 30 districts.A simple, locallyfocused rehabilitation plan will not work, experts say.
The statewide devastation means the BS Yediyurappa government will have to mobilise huge sums of money for rehabilitation measures and restoration of infrastructure.
According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre officials, 88 people died in rain- and floodrelated accidents till August
22. More than 7 lakh houses have been destroyed or damaged and standing crops on around 8 lakh hectares have been devastated, the officials said. Over 5,000 weavers are on the streets after floodwaters damaged power looms and snatched away their livelihood, they said.
The government is still in the process of assessing the damage to roads, bridges, government buildings and power transmission networks. As per a preliminary report, more than 8,000km of roads of all types and around 200 small and medium bridges have been damaged and more than 1.5 lakh electric poles have been uprooted.
Yediyurappa has pegged the loss at ?40,000 crore.
“It is an initial estimate. The exact sum will be known only after an ongoing survey is completed,” said minister S Suresh Kumar, who visited flood-affected areas across Kodagu.
As an immediate measure, the state government has disbursed ?5 lakh each to the families of people who died in rain-related incidents and ?10,000 each for flood-affected families to purchase household articles (?6,200 more than prescribed under NDRF norms). The government, which is providing ?5,000 per family for house rent till they rebuild their houses, has also announced ?5 lakh in assistance for those whose houses have been destroyed and providing aid for those with partially damaged houses as per NDRF norms.
“This has put a lot of stress on the exchequer when resources are already spread thin,” said a senior official in the revenue department, highlighting the need for immediate central help. Yediyurappa’s decision to dole out ?4,000 per farmer over and above ?6,000 under Kisan Samman Yojana has only deepened the financial stress.
Though three Union ministers, including home minister Amit Shah, visited floodaffected areas of the state and Yediyurappa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek ?5,000 crore in assistance, the state has received no help so far. Opposition parties have condemned the Centre’s indifference and chided state BJP leaders for being unable to secure assistance.
“The Centre is awaiting loss assessment to be completed to provide relief,” said minister KS Eshwarappa who visited flood-affected areas Bagalkot district. “We remain confident that the Centre will provide help.”
The Centre’s recent decision to depute inter-ministerial central teams in the aftermath of any natural calamity of severe nature to assess the loss has kindled hopes that assistance will arrive early. These teams earlier visited a calamity-hit state only after receiving a memorandum from the state. As has been the recent norm, a central team visited the state to collect information on Saturday.
An additional sum of ?1,029 crore approved by the Centre for drought relief for 2018-19 has eased the burden somewhat, as the government plans to use it to meet immediate expenses for flood relief. “We can adjust this amount once the Centre releases assistance for the floods,” a senior official said.
The state government is also looking at the possibility of tapping into the Centre’s policy to provide housing for all by 2022 to provide relief to the flood-hit. “We’ll seek sanction of more houses for Karnataka and allocate them to flood-affected areas,” Eshwarappa said.
While the state government is desperately looking to the Centre for help, ?80 crore in donations from individuals and organisations will come in handy for the state to meet urgent expenses. “The CM expects public contribution of around ?300 crore,” Kumar said.