*Memorandum of losses to be finalized next week
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 27: Taking serious note of delay in assessment of losses by certain departments, Chief Secretary, Mohd Iqbal Khandey has issued explicit directions for furnishing of details within next two days to facilitate the finalization of memorandum of losses suffered due to unprecedented floods during next week. However, the figures furnished to the Government reveal that around Rs 2700 crore damages were suffered in five key sectors—road, water, power, irrigation and rural development and a total of 12.50 lakh families were affected across Jammu and Kashmir due to worst ever catastrophe.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that while chairing meeting of Administrative Secretaries at Srinagar yesterday, Chief Secretary noticed that some departments were yet to furnish complete details about the losses suffered due to recent devastating floods despite the fact that repeated directions were issued in this regard.
As lack of details of losses from certain departments was delaying the finalization of the memorandum to be submitted to the Union Government for seeking assistance to rebuild damaged infrastructure, Chief Secretary directed heads of such departments to ensure furnishing of details within next two days positively, sources informed.
“We cannot wait any more as a comprehensive picture about the losses is required to be projected before the Union Government”, sources said quoting Chief Secretary’s statement made in the meeting. He (Chief Secretary) also made it clear that for further delay in furnishing of details only heads of the departments would be responsible as Centre would not allow revision of figures about losses after submission of memorandum.
In response to a question, sources said complete information from the departments like Police, Higher Education, Information Technology, Sports, Estates and Health was yet to be furnished to the Chief Secretary. “No doubt, these departments have submitted initial reports about the losses but the final figures have yet not been conveyed and in the absence of the same memorandum for Union Government cannot be finalized”, sources said, adding “Chief Secretary has directed heads of these departments to gear up their field officers for completion of assessment exercise promptly”.
However, complete information has come from several other departments including Power Development, Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control, Public Works (R&B) and Roads and Buildings. Similarly, figures have also been consolidated about the number of private houses damaged (fully or partially) and total number of families affected due to floods across Jammu and Kashmir.
As far as five key departments are concerned, Public Works (R&B) Department has worked out the cost of the damages at Rs 900 crore, sources informed, adding the department has projected major and minor damages to 500 bridges and culverts besides 3000 kilometer road length across the State. This damaged road length includes roads constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), which were in kacha condition and washed away during the heavy rainfall and floods.
The PHE Department has projected loss of Rs 219 crore in the shape of major and minor damages to water supply schemes and machinery while as Irrigation and Flood Control Department has collectively pegged the losses at Rs 1100 crore in the shape of washing away of fields, damages to bundhs and crates, breaches in bundhs, submergence of machinery and damage to khuls.
The Rural Development Department has pegged the losses at Rs 250 crore in the shape of damage to buildings, Panchayat Ghars and Community Information Centres, sources informed.
The Power Development Department has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 213 crore. It has projected major and minor damages to 1500 Sub-Stations, seven major transmission towers in Shopian and Poonch districts. Moreover, the department has projected damage to 10,000 kilometer conductor length of HT/LT lines and major and minor damage to around 9000 electricity poles.
According to the sources, a total of 12.50 lakh families have been affected due to rains and floods across Jammu and Kashmir. These families have suffered on different aspects like damage to houses, cattle sheds, death of cattle heads and loss to the crops etc. Similarly, if the existing norms for compensation in case of fully and partially damaged houses are kept in the consideration, the damages to the private houses have been pegged at Rs 444 crore across the State. However, if the Government of India relaxes the norms as requested by the State Government, this figure would go up considerably.
As per the information received till date, the damages to the Government buildings have been worked out at Rs 650 crore, they said, adding this figure would go up considerably as damages to some hospitals particularly in Srinagar have yet not been finalized. The losses to the standing crops have been pegged at Rs 550 crore.
Had all the departments submitted assessment of damages, the memorandum would have been submitted to the Union Government till now, sources said, adding “now the Government wants to finalize the same positively by next week for submission to the Centre with the request to help the State in resource generation so that permanent restoration of damages could begin”.
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