Centre declares Assam flood as 'severe calamity', Opposition asks for notification

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the Centre has declared this year's devastating floods as a severe calamity and has assured funding support, amid suspicion from the Opposition.

"The Centre has already declared this year's flood as a calamity of severe nature. Home Minister Amit Shah assured me that the Centre would give 90 per cent of the funds to be spent for repair of the damages caused by the flood and for rehabilitation of the affected people. Instead of getting into politics of a special package for the floods, the Centre has agreed to provide whatever fund is required," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati.

However, Assam's Opposition parties asked why the Centre has not issued a notification regarding the same. "Why hasn't the Centre made the announcement? Why is the CM doing so? Let the CM show the official notification by the Centre which declared the flood as a severe calamity," Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi asked while reacting to the announcement.

"In 2018, the Centre had declared the flood in Kerala as a severe calamity and had even announced a Calamity Relief Fund. Has the Centre announced a similar fund for Assam this time?" Gogoi asked.

Assam has witnessed severe floods since May this year that wreaked havoc in 34 out of 36 districts. Floods and landslides killed 195 people and affected over 89.21 lakh people. Over 2.40 lakh hectares of cropland have been damaged while more than 54,000 animals have been washed away. The flood has also fully damaged 25,700 houses and partially damaged another 2.81 lakh houses.

Sarma Saturday said the flood has washed away houses, damaged roads, embankments, bridges, schools, anganwadi centres and many other infrastructures. "According to a preliminary assessment, at least Rs 1,000 crore would be required for repairing the damages and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people," he said.

Flood is almost an annual problem and there has been a long demand for declaring the Assam flood as a national calamity to find a permanent solution. Many including the influential All Assam Students' Union have demanded that the flood be declared a national calamity for earmarking special funds and pulling in international experts to address the natural calamity. But Sarma stressed that there is no provision for declaring the flood as a national calamity. "No one has so far suggested any foolproof solution to the flood problem but we are taking a lot of steps to mitigate it," he said.