Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday announced a special package of `1,935 crore for the flood-affected areas of Vidarbha and parts of the Konkan region. The CM was replying to a special discussion in the state Assembly in the backdrop of heavy rains that claimed more than 200 lives in these areas.
Mr Chavan said that a total of 237 people had lost their lives, of which 107 belonged to the Vidarbha region alone. The state government has decided to give `2.5 lakh to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives. Of the total amount, `1.5 lakh will be provided from the Central contingency relief fund and rest of the amount will be paid from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
He said that 23,200 hectares of land was washed away, while 1,056 hectares of land has caved in due to heavy rains. “More than 33,600 houses have suffered damages. Crops on more than four lakh hectares land have been affected, while 260 cattle also died due to floods,” Mr Chavan added.
He informed that relief of `70,000 for pucca houses, `25,000 for mud houses and `15,000 for partially damaged houses would be given soon. `2,500 would be the compensation for dead cattle.
The chief minister announced an allocation of `840 crore as a permanent solution to prevent flooding in those areas, including building of malgujari (held by private parties in the past) dams, cement nullah bunds and dredging of silt from the dams. Mr Chavan also declared an allocation of `720 crore for the repair of public property, including roads, government offices and bridges.