Govt needs Rs 7,900 cr to repair flood-hit infra

The cash-strapped state government requires Rs 7,900 crore for permanent repair of roads, bridges and buildings of Public Works Department (PWD) damaged by the devastating floods that affected half the taluks in the state recently.

Deputy Chief Minister and Public Works Department minister Govind Karjol said on Tuesday that in order to ensure that repair works of such infrastructure was not affected, PWD was reallocating its funds as “some adjustments had to be made” to prioritise relief and repair in flood-hit regions.

A total of 1,293 culverts and bridges had been damaged, he said, adding arranging money for these works in itself is a challenge.

“We are facing a major financial burden due to loan waiver introduced by the previous coalition government and the floods that caused losses to the tune of Rs 38,000 crore,” he said.

Temporary repair works have already been taken up and state government has released Rs 500 cr for the purpose, he said.

He said that the state was trying to secure more funds from the Central government. On state governments’ expectation in terms of relief, he said that a total of 13 states in the country were hit by floods and relief will be provided as per norms, soon.

Karajol said that electronic counters to pay tolls will be installed in 32 state highways (SH) of Karnataka, as part of a nationwide initiative by the Centre. The state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central government in this regard, he said.

While 50% of the expenditure for installing electronic toll booths will be met by the Central government, the balance will be borne by the state government.

“The Centre will pay its share in installing two electronic counters in each of the toll booths and the state government will set up the rest,” he said. A sum of Rs 20 lakh will be sanctioned for each automated electronic unit.