Mr. Vice-Chairman, Sir, I
thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this very critical
situation which is prevailing in different parts of India. On the one side, we
are having the floods; and on the other, we are having parts of the country
which are affected by the drought. This situation is happening every year
throughout the country because India is a very big country where there is
diversity of geographical locations. It has to be addressed properly by the
Government of India. But unfortunately, we always discuss every year about the
disaster, about the drought,100
about the flood, the suffering to the people, the loss caused to the
agriculturists and landless labourers and migration of120 labourers. Sir, many such issues are
discussed every year. But the response which has to come from the Government of140 India is not coming. The creation of the
Disaster Management Commission has not been properly done. The National
Disaster Management160
Authority, which was formed in 2005 is not working properly, according to me,
Sir. It is because the recent floods in Chennai were not at all recognized by
the Disaster Management System even though America had said in200 the NASA Report, one month in advance,
that there would be a disaster in Chennai itself which will be a historical
one, which will submerge many areas. So, that was the Report given by NASA.240 But the Disaster Management Authority,
which has to prepare a Disaster Management Report in consultation with the
State Government and the District level officials, and which has to constitute
the Committee immediately, and take the preventive measures, did not do280 that. This is the question I raised in
this House during the earlier debate, and now also I am putting300 the question to the Home Ministry
whether the Disaster Management Authority is working properly or not. I even
asked them320 to give us the
chronological data through which you had asked the Government of Tamil Nadu for
being prepared for the Chennai floods and the coastal area floods. But they
have not given the answer in chronological order. They simply360 repeated whatever is possible as per the
Sections of the Disaster Management Act. This is a very poor reflection on how
the system is working. As per the Act, the Vice-Chairman has to be there. But
there is no400 Vice-Chairman;
there is no Scientist and there is no proper person who is looking after it or
who is having420 the
information, data and knowledge about it. Every area which is affected by the
natural calamities whether it is drought or flood, has to be captured by the
system. Those areas have to be warned through the system by the State-level
Disaster Management Authority, and also the district-level and village-level
committees have to be formed, and they480
should be prepared for everything. It includes drought also. We need not wait
for the things to happen, and then500
we have to go for the rehabilitation. The system is very clear, Sir. Therefore,
you have to save them. But, 400 lives have been lost because of the disaster
management failure on the part of the Government of India. Now, they are going
and giving charity, as if they were living in a British Government. The Prime
Minister goes and560 says that
he is giving Rs. 1,000 crores. Next time, the Finance Minister says that
everything will be done within four days; every banker will give loan; everyone
will be rehabilitated. What is the fun we are making? People600 are suffering there. Even today, if you
see the television, people are shouting that they are in the floods; they have
not at all been evacuated from the flooded areas. Even today, the State
Government does not have any strategy640
to do this. Sir, what I am saying is that the State Government is not equipped
with as much facilities as the Government of India. They do not have the Air
Force. They do not have naval force. They do not have the Army. They cannot
have the desilting forces. Heavy machineries cannot be brought there. That is
why, I700 am saying that it is
there in Chennai itself. But the Government of India has not moved even an
inch. 720 They have not
deputed the Army, which is in the Chennai city itself. Naval forces are also
there, ships are there, but they are not moved. The medical facilities are
there, but they are not moved. The Air Force is there, but it is not moved.
After we shouted here for four days, they just said that they would be sending
the Air Force. They also provided only some cosmetic help. After some days,
they retrieved back. What is the800
fun we are making? Are we taking the lives of the people of Tamil Nadu lightly?
Tamil Nadu is also a part of India. The people of Tamil Nadu are also Indians.
We will have to protect them. We have840
got a system. Had there been no system, that would have been something
different. As early as 2008, Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi had separated this Department
from the Department of Agriculture and brought that under the Ministry of Home
Affairs so that all the forces can be united. The State Government cannot be
expected to have so much900 of
money, so much of personnel, so much of forces at their disposal. Therefore,
you will have to rush all this. You should put all the mechanism, which is at
your disposal, in operation. You will have to devise a mechanism to manage it.
There should be a plan for disaster management. The people of Maharashtra have
been affected by960 the
drought. Are you not having any plan for them? The coastal areas of Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are980
always affected. Are you not having any plan for that? Why are you not
implementing it? Why are you not1000
coming forward with an effective system? It is because the NDA Government, the
BJP Government, I1020 am sorry
to say, is not efficient enough to govern and help the people. That is what I
want to stress upon. You have to come forward. Do not make cosmetic changes by
making announcements and letting the people suffer. Sir, people are suffering even now. The State
Governments, to their limitations, are doing it. But we cannot expect it unless1080 the Central Government comes forward
with all the relief. They have to go to the field and help them. People1100 should be redeemed from the disaster.
Thank you very much, Sir.
Mr. Vice-Chairman, Sir,
as per nature's wish, I1120
come from the State of West Bengal, and, it is one out of only five or six
States which suffer from both flood and drought. Let me first re-assure
everyone in and around Chennai, who experienced the nature's fury and trauma a few
weeks ago. The thoughts and prayers of Bengal are fully with them. If we talk
about the West Bengal floods, the cyclone hit the State in the month of August
and more than 100 lives were lost1200
and 61 lakh people were affected. As far as Damodar Valley is concerned, West
Bengal is located in the downstream of major rivers including Damodar. Flood
control was the primary objective for constructing various dams in the Damodar
Valley area. This has taken a backseat and other activities like power
generation and supply of water have taken precedence. If1260 we talk about sudden release of water,
when the cyclone hit the State, the DVC dams discharged1280 1.30 lakh cusecs of water in three days
without any proper monitoring mechanism. Sudden release of water led to man-made
flooding and loss of many lives. The DVC dams need to be upgraded so that their
storage capacity can meet the objective of controlling floods. Prolonged
neglect can cause another substantial disaster in the State. The State
Government had an opening balance of Rs. 610 crore in the SDRF. Additional 387
crore of rupees were received from the Centre. So, expenditure of Rs. 937 crore
has already been made out of the SDRF leaving a balance of Rs. 60 crores only.
The State Government has1400
also spent Rs. 1,000 crore out of its own resources. Our request is that the
NDRF funds should be released to meet the requirements of immediate relief and
restoration works. Thirteen lakh hectares of agricultural land1440 is inundated. Consider a programme of
loan waiver, restructuring and grant of fresh loans to farmers. Sir, it is
unfair to base the amount of compensation on the number of lives lost, as
States which have taken pre-emptive measures will see reduced number of deaths.
This, in turn, leads to lesser compensation paid by the Central Government
while it does not take into account the amount spent by the State Government in
taking the pre-emptive measures. There is no incentive to State Government for
being proactive and taking necessary steps to minimize loss of life or damage
to land before the disaster strikes. 1543
