Providing immediate relief, taking stringent steps in Maha govt's flood management plan

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray addresses the media after a flood review meeting in Kolhapur. Pic/PTI

With heavy rains last month causing deluge in parts of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has underlined the need to find a "permanent solution" and taking stringent steps to prevent frequent floods in the state.

The chief minister reached the flood-hit Sangli district in western Maharashtra where he visited Bhilwadi, Ankalkhop, Kasbe-Digraj and various other areas to take stock of the situation, and reviewed steps taken by the administration towards flood management. "We have to work on two fronts - providing immediate relief to people affected by floods, and that work is going on. The administration acted in advance and evacuated people to safety," he said.

"Besides providing immediate relief, we will have to work on a permanent solution to the frequent crisis of floods in the region and for that, we will have to take some stringent steps," the CM said. Thackeray said if some constructions are causing obstacles to the natural flow of water, they need to be removed.

He also underlined the need for permanent rehabilitation of those affected by frequent floods and said people's cooperation will be needed for this. "To address the issue of the flood situation in western Maharashtra, there is a need for effective flood management. I received some suggestions about diverting the floodwaters to drought-hit areas. We are thinking about it also," he said.

Thackeray said a committee of experts will be formed for flood management. "There is a need to conduct a study of landslide incidents and relocate human settlements which are at the foothills of such landslide-prone areas," he said. The CM said the development works should continue, but it is also important to analyse the pros and cons of such works.

The CM said he was expecting the Centre's help on three counts. "The first is about the parameters of the National Disaster Response Fund on providing assistance to flood-affected people which have become old and need to be amended. We have sought amendments in these criteria. I have personally raised this issue in the meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by the Prime Minister.

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Besides the NDRF assistance, we have also demanded that at least 50 per cent of the insurance amount be paid to those people who incurred losses in floods based on the assessments done by the state government. A demand of issuing new loans on reduced interest rates to residents of flood-hit areas has also been made," he said.

Thackeray said the MVA government will come up with a "holistic long-term plan" for all the flood-affected districts such as Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Raigad, Sindhudurg, and Ratnagiri to ensure the construction of roads, bridges etc. He also said the state government will review the reports submitted by all the committees set up earlier, including of the Vadnere committee, to recommend measures to avoid floods.

"We will take suggestions from experts from all these committees and will go ahead accordingly," the CM said. Asked about the idea of constructing walls near rivers so that floodwater won't enter towns situation on their banks, Thackeray said an expert had made this suggestion. "I had said that an expert had made this suggestion but its feasibility, considering factors like the exact location of the construction of a wall and other aspects like whether such a wall will affect other areas, need to be discussed with experts," he added.

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