Mehbooba Mufti meets PM Modi PDP MPs submit memorandum, urge PM to meet flood affected people ABID BASHIR SmallerDefaultLarger Srinagar, Oct 17: The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Friday submitted a detailed memorandum to the Prime Minister NarendraModi demanding re-building the new Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of devastating deluge that left huge trail of death and destruction behind. The memorandum suggests that the post-flood rehabilitation focus in the State should be on restoration of livelihoods and rebuilding of the economy. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti accompanied by MPs MuzaffarHussainBeigh and Tariq Hameed Karra presented the reconstruction memorandum to the Prime Minister. The memorandum suggests a set of practical and speedily implementable initiatives for reconstruction of J&K after the devastation caused by the floods. Mehbooba Mufti told the Prime Minister that it is important to assure the people of J&K that the PM and the country is behind them in this hour of crisis. Talking to Greater Kashmir over phone from New Delhi, Beigh said they met the PM and explained to him the situation that has risen after the deluge in J&K. “We presented a detailed memorandum and demanded to Government of India that it must work out JK’s partnership with the 36 country consortium of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR),” he said. “We urged the Prime Minister to monitor every developmental project for JK himself. The PDP MPs urged the Prime Minister to visit Kashmir and create an environment of trust with the all the stakeholders.” While endorsing that the GOI must fully fund the long delayed Rs 44000 crore relief and rehabilitation plan, they said it takes a long time to get these funds and benefits to fructify on the ground. “While the Government of India must fully fund this rehabilitation and reconstruction plan, it shall have to take some practical and urgent measures in the above listed sectors to address the issues of immediate concern,” the memorandum states. “First, include Srinagar in the smart cities announced in this year’s Union budget with an allocation of Rs 7000 crore in the current year. If Srinagar is included in the Smart Cities project, for which the money has already been provided in the budget, the process of rebuilding can start instantaneously and along futuristic lines.” The memorandum further states that in view of the fast approaching winter and that no construction is possible during that time, there is need to provide financial assistance for construction of temporary shelter sheds. “This will help the flood victims survive the winter and start rebuilding their dwellings in April,” it reads. “The existing Rajiv AwaasYojana which is meant for improving and provisioning of housing, basic civic infrastructure and social amenities in urban areas should be extended to rural areas in J&K. The housing in rural areas has been devastated and this would go a long way in providing shelter for the marginalized rural population,” the memorandum states. “Alongside this, it will strengthen the institutional and human resource capacities at the Municipal, City and State levels through comprehensive capacity building and strengthening of resource networks.” “Market intervention is required by the Union/State Government to ensure that the costs of conducting horticulture business, which have dramatically shot up, is subsidized for this season. A part of the freight for transporting apples out of the state must be provided by the state. Otherwise, the sale of apples will be unviable and will cripple this sector,” it states. “The Agricultural debt waiver and debt relief scheme of 2008 which hardly benefitted J&K must be run for one year in the state. Out of the Rs 72,000 crore debt relief to farmers in the country, J&K farmers benefitted only about Rs 300 odd crores. It would make up for the injustice to the farmers and growers of the state who are now in dire straits.” The Peoples Democratic Party suggested that the focus of the post-flood rehabilitation program in JK should be on restoration of livelihoods and rebuilding of the economy. “The floods have not only destroyed assets but severely impaired the process of income generation and it would take the state economy nearly a decade to reach the pre-flood levels of state and personal disposable income,” it reads. “The recovery and rehabilitation in J&K must focus on asset loss in the following sectors— Housing and public buildings, Roads and Bridges, Irrigation, Energy and Environment. In addition to these the focus has to be on the income loss and liability commitments in Horticulture, Handicrafts, Trade and Tourism.” The Memorandum further reads that the union budget has for the current year allocated Rs 2,000 crore for urban renewal and for making cities livable with better infrastructure. “It is evident that no city can lay a greater claim on the project than Srinagar which needs to be made livable after undergoing massive destruction during the September floods,” it states. “Srinagar should be also included in National Heritage and City Development and Augmentation Yojna for conserving the heritage character of the city impaired by the floods. The financial resources have been provided for this in the Union Budget. The Calamity Relief Fund provided by the Finance Commission and recurring corpus of the state’s Disaster relief fund, should be treated as State’s funding support for the uninsured which is based on self-assessment and ratified by the local trade body or the bazaar committee. As such, these funds should provide default insurance across the States for small traders and businesses uninsured assets.” The memorandum states that banks must be instructed to strictly implement the Guidelines for relief measures in areas affected by natural calamity outlined by the RBI in its Master Circular. “The financial assistance required by borrowers in the event of natural calamity must include uncollateralized fresh consumption loans, fresh loans for resumption of normal business and restructuring of the existing loans,” it reads. “Special attention must be given to workout relief program for Kissan Credit Card and Artisan Credit Card holders. This will provide enormous relief to growers in the horticulture sector and artisans in the handicraft sector. All Over Drafts of borrowers must be converted into KCC lending.” For the uninsured the damage and loss information must be done as “self-assessment” ratified by the trade and industry associations. “In addition to these, the liabilities of households and commercial enterprise – principally repayment and interest on the bank loans and taxation to government --must be assessed and addressed separately. The financial needs for recovery and reconstruction must be done following a sector by sector damage and loss assessment, which itemizes distribution and priority setting based on sectors of the economy, and different population groupings in the affected area,” the memorandum reads. The memorandum also recommends a renewed focus on rehabilitation of Dal dwellers saying “this is the most opportune time to rehabilitate them at Bemina.”
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 09:02:45 +0000
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