Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 17: Two high level Central teams of various Ministries today visited several districts in Jammu and Kashmir to assess damage caused by flash floods to Government infrastructure, private property and loss of lives last month. Two teams-one each for the two regions-are on a three days visit of the State to assess the damages and submit report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The team is headed by M Gopal Ready, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Official sources said the team for Jammu region comprising Brek Tripathi, Director Monitoring in Central Works Commission, Narendra Kumar, Assistant Director and Aditya Prakash, Superintending Engineer in the same Commission, AK Rajput, Director, Central Electricity Board, Ministry of Power, BL Meena, Assistant Director, Expenditure Monitoring in Ministry of Finance and Prakash Bhardwaj, Under Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj visited several areas of Jammu and Samba.
The Central team visited some areas, which have suffered extensive damaged in heavy floods and rains in the first week of September in which about 300 lives were lost, scores of others were injured and several thousands were rendered shelterless in the State.
Concerned Deputy Commissioners and other officers of the districts briefed the Central team about the damages caused by heavy floods and rains including Government infrastructure, civilian property and lives.
In Kashmir, the Central team led by Reddy himself visited Anantnag and Pulwama districts for on spot assessment of damages caused by the floods. The team visited various places of damages of infrastructure, houses, schools etc and enquired from the Deputy Commissioners the extent of damage including number of persons rendered homeless in their areas.
At various places, the Central team also inspected with representatives of the Panchayats.
It may be mentioned that the Government of India had decided to undertake an extensive study of devastation caused by last month’s floods through its own two high level teams.
The Centre decided to carry out its own assessment of damages caused to public property and Government infrastructure after a memo submitted to the Centre by the State Government seeking an unprecedented Rs 44,000 crores worth package for relief and rehabilitation measures for flood victims and infrastructure.
The Committee constituted for Kashmir region will have a high level meeting with Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, Principal and Commissioner Secretaries, Divisional Commissioner and equivalent officers to take their assessment of the situation and modus operandi adopted by them in working out losses to the tune of Rs 44,000 crores, which have been sought from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation measures.
Initially, the Government had worked out the losses to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crores.
The Committees comprised top ranking officers of Ministries of Home, Animal Husbandry, Health, Finance, Rural Development, Agriculture and Road and Surface Transport. All these sectors have been badly affected by the floods. There will be two top officers of these Ministries in the Committee-one each in separate Panel constituted for Jammu and Kashmir region.
Sources said the Committee in its meeting with top bureaucrats of the State Government would take their assessment of the situation including damage caused to civilian property and Government infrastructure and ways and means used by them in calculating the damages apart from number of civilians killed, injured and missing in the floods.
The Committees would also have extensive meetings with Deputy Commissioners (District Development Commissioners) of the districts, which have suffered damage in the floods to know intensity of damage and losses projected by them.
Follow our WhatsApp channel