THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local bodies will be asked to set up ward-level natural disaster war chest using their own funds from this year on. This unique administrative measure, which is now in the discussion stage, has been thought up to do away with the usual lag in initiating relief measures whenever disaster strikes.
“It is the tahsildar and not the panchayat officials who have control over the disaster relief fund operated by the Revenue Department. This centralised control causes procedural delays in the disbursement of the money for emergency relief measures,” a top Revenue Department official said. A local disaster relief chest was a concept that was mooted after the Ockhi disaster struck. That the proposal has been dusted off during the summer is also a sign that disaster experts foresee a more than normal monsoon with landslides and floods.
According to the proposal, grama panchayats will be asked to earmark Rs 5,000, municipal wards Rs 10,000 and corporation wards Rs 15000-20000. “The local bodies have been asked to treat this as a kind of trigger fund which should be used to kick off relief measures once disaster strikes. This means that local authorities need not have to wait for revenue money to reach to begin operations,” the official said.
The State Disaster Relief Commission has declared as landslide-prone Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki and Kottayam districts. During a landslide it has been found that the debris falls down along the rivulets and cascades found along ‘ghat roads’ in these districts. “PWD has been asked to put up boards urgently warning people not to stand under or near the rivulets and cascades along winding mountainous roads,” the revenue official said. “The concerned local body can initiate such measures with the money they have collected in their chests,” he added.
