Govt to expedite rehab process

To begin with, exemption will be provided under the Karnataka Transparency and Procurement Act from calling for tenders for rebuilding infra structure facilities devastated by the floods.  Besides, tax exemption on VAT, exemption from payment of royalty will be provided for all purchases made for rehabilitation work.

"We are planning to put in place permanent infrastructure in the affected areas", said S A Jaamdar, nodal officer appointed to oversee the rehabilitation work.

Of the 3.5 lakh houses that have been damaged due to the floods, nearly one lakh houses have been completely damaged and have to be rebuilt entirely on new plots. As many as 100 villages have been completely washed out and have to be relocated. Around 50,000 houses in 50 villages have been partially affected.

As a priority the government will take steps to provide drinking water, repair roads, schools and anganwadi centres on a war footing.

The next phase would be to relocate the villages. The state Town Planning Department has been asked to provide model house design. District level and taluk level committees headed by the jurisdictional deputy commissioners and tahasildars have been constituted for demarking layouts and purchase of private land, Jaamdar said.
A time frame of six months has been set to complete the relocation plan.

The government also plans to provide short-term training for unskilled labourers in masonary to meet the huge demand for trained manpower for the reconstruction work. SErvices of skilled labourers from Bihar, Orissa and Gujarat will also be sought, if required, Jaamdar said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa has again urged the Centre to declare the recent floods in north Karnataka as a national calamity and sanction Rs 10,000 crore immediately to the State.

In a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on October 7, the CM has said the damage to crops and properties would exceed Rs 20,000 crore. The State Government need to take up relief and reconstruction operations on a massive scale, he added.
The monsoon is expected to be vigorous for some more days, and it is likely to further intensify in the coastal districts of the State, the CM said.