Chennai: Contending that Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, has suffered immensely due to the unprecedented floods in December last year, a parliamentary committee has asked the Union Government to “look sympathetically” into the needs of the state government and immediately announce a special relief and rehabilitation package.
The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs attached to the Rajya Sabha, in its report submitted on the floor of the House on Friday last, has also asked the Chennai corporation to pay attention to maintenance of drainage system “seriously” and act accordingly.
Otherwise, the report has stated what has been reported widely in the media — the flooding was caused due to high intensity rainfall, large releases from storages beyond channel carrying capacity of the channels, encroachments in lakes and river channels and drainage congestion.
The committee also disagreed with the view of home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, who deposed before the committee that the primary responsibility and the first response for disaster management rest with the state, saying that the Centre should bolster its support to the state government.
Noting that there is a “significant gap” between the demand for financial assistance made by the state and the actual help extended to them by the Centre, the committee is appalled by the extensive damage caused to social and physical infrastructure such as roads, drinking water, sewerage, drainage systems, health centres, schools and colleges in flood-affected areas of the state.
“The committee, therefore, urges upon the Central government to look sympathetically into the needs of the state government in terms of reconstruction and rehabilitation and immediately announce a special relief and rehabilitation package which is in consonance with the demands of the state,” the report said.
The report, prepared by chairman P. Battacharya, says the committee takes note of the submission of the ministry of water resources that the encroachment of lakes and riverbeds played a major role in causing massive flood in Chennai.
Observing that that the drainage system got chocked in Chennai and the city was flooded badly in the aftermath of heavy torrential rainfall, the Committee recommended that regular maintenance of the drainage system should get topmost priority however daunting the task may be. It also asked the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and Chennai Municipal Corporation should pay attention to this issue seriously and act accordingly. “The drainage system of the city should be flawless so as to prevent any kind of water logging,” the report said.
