|
| |
| |
Spread and Magnitude of Floods |
| |
| Maharashtra suffered heavily during successive spell
of floods, beginning from July 24 onwards. Excessive rains in Konkan
inundated Raigad and Ratnagiri districts, cutting off its villages
and towns. Unprecedented rains of 944 mm. in Mumbai on July 26, a
record rainfall event, created flash flooding in the city of Mumbai
and Thane district. Almost the entire urban sprawl of Mumbai sub-urban
and Thane district were under water, paralyzing the city and civic
life. On July 26 itself, the rise in the Godavari and Dudhna rivers
caused extensive flooding in Nanded and Parbhani districts in Marathwada.
It was immediately followed by the flooding in Kolhapur, Sangli, and
Satara districts, where heavy rains in Western Ghats and the release
of water from dams brought a large area under prolonged submergence.
Flood water continued for almost three weeks in these districts, largely
due to the backwater impact of the Almaty dam in Karnataka. |
|
|
|
On September 14, excessive rains caused flooding
in Nagpur division in Vidarbha. Bhandara, Gondia, and Nagpur districts
were under heavy flooding. More than villages were affected by the
floods. When the floods receded in Vidarbha, Nanded and Parbhani
districts came under the impact of a second round of flooding. |
|
|
| Heavy rainfall in Mumbai and Konkan triggered landslides.
There were at least six villages in Raigad and Ratnagiri, where landslides
caused deaths. In village Jui, near Mahad in Raigad district, more
than 100 people died due to the collapse of houses under the impact
of a major landslide. A similar landslide buried a big settlement
in the Saki Naka area causing more than 70 deaths. |
|
| |
|
Losses and Damages |
| |
| Floods on such a scale were unprecedented in the State.
During the last two months, almost all the regions in the State were
badly affected by the floods, causing enormous losses both in terms
of human lives and physical and material losses. More than 1,100 people
died during the floods. After the floods, leptospirosis erupted in
Mumbai and Thane, causing 250 deaths. |
|
|
Crops over 10 lakh hectares are damaged.
Farmers who take only one crop a year, have practically lost everything.
It affected the sugarcane growers badly in Western Maharashtra,
while the paddy growers in Konkan and Nagpur lost their entire annual
earnings. The owners of banana plantations in Parbhani lost everything.
Cattle losses are also on a large scale, with more than 27,000 cattle
perishing in the floods. |
|
|
|
Housing losses are on a large scale: more than 20,000
houses are fully damaged, while more than 6.5 lakh houses are partially
damaged. In many villages, where water-logging continued for more
than three weeks, most of the houses have been rendered weak and
unstable. Many villages have been completely wiped out due to the
landslides. The entire population in these villages is living in
temporary shelter. |
|
| In Mumbai, the home-owners on the ground floor suffered
maximum loss when all their household belongings and consumer durables
were badly damaged during the floods, the total losses thus running
into hundreds of crores. The entire trading class suffered heavy damages
when their shops and warehouses were inundated with waters. All the
vehicle owners including those who operate taxis and auto-rickshaws
suffered damages due to floods. |
| |
| The losses are extraordinary in the public sector, with
infrastructure and public utilities badly damaged. Roads, bridges,
and culverts are damaged for the entire length and breadth of the
state. Power stations and irrigation structures have also suffered
extensive losses. All the public utilities within the municipal corporations
are badly damaged. The total losses are estimated at approximately
Rs. 6,000 crores. |
|
|
| IIt was a disaster which affected all: the rich and
poor, the urban and rural, traders and artisans, government employees,
corporate professionals, and the cultivators. The worst hit was the
agricultural laborers who lost employment opportunities in the fields
due to floods. Further, the recent floods would have a multiplier
impact on the economy. Agricultural, industrial and commercial productivity
would suffer decline thereby adversely affecting tax realization and
fiscally constraining the State to meet the exorbitant cost of relief
and rehabilitation. |
| |
|
| Rescue and Relief Operations |
| |
The Government of Maharashtra organized a large rescue
and evacuation operation. It took the support of all the three wings
of the Armed Forces for evacuating the flood-affected people to safer
places. Altogether 13 columns of army and 14 naval teams with divers
and boats were deployed. Two MI-8 helicopters and two AN-32 planes
were used for airdropping food and other relief material. Both the
Army and Navy deployed 72 boats for rescuing the people.
|
| |
|
| More than 5 lakh people were evacuated in all the flood-affected
districts. They were taken to safer places, where they were provided
with food and clean drinking water. Community kitchens were organized
for which the Government issued foodgrains free of cost. In many places,
these kitchens were supported for a number of days. |
|
| The Government has distributed Rs. 1 lakh each to all
the families who lost their members during the floods. More than Rs.
6.54 crore has been distributed so far as ex gratia assistance. The
Government has also sent the list of deceased for release of assistance
from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. |
| |
| The Government has distributed gratuitous relief to
all the flood affected families—on an average, Rs. 5,000 to
each family. About Rs. 410 crores has been distributed as relief to
the flood-affected families. |
| |
| The Government has provided foodgrains and kerosene
oil to all the flood-affected families free of cost: 20 kg of foodgrains
and 10 liter of kerosene oil. About 20,000 tons of foodgrains and
8,000 kilolitres of kerosene oil have been distributed so far. The
Government has started distributing textbooks and exercise books to
all the children who lost their schoolbags during the floods. |
|
The Government has provided enough medicines, disinfectants,
and insecticides to take care of peoples’ health and sanitation
needs in the wake of floods. |
| |
| Immediate Restoration of
Services and Utilities |
| |
| The Government immediately undertook to restore electricity
in the entire flood-affected areas. The Maharashtra State Electricity
Board worked overtime to replace damaged transformers and provide
electricity to all the flood-affected people within a period of three
days. Only in those areas, where electricity was provided by the Reliance
Energy, the provision of electricity was delayed. The Government of
Maharashtra pressurized the Reliance Energy and provided it all the
help and assistance in restoring power in the suburbs of Mumbai. |
| |
| The Government immediately undertook to restore water
supply in all the cities and towns where floods damaged water supply
schemes. It undertook emergency repairs of all the damaged schemes.
In those places, where water supply schemes could not be restored
immediately, water tankers were deployed. |
| |
| The Government supported all the Municipal Corporations
/ Councils in undertaking a sanitation drive by which more than 1000
dumpers and JCBs were deployed in all the flood-affected areas for
disposing of animal carcass and garbage. In the city of Mumbai alone,
more than 2 lakh tons of garbage was lifted in three days following
the floods. |
|
| The Government has made special effort to ensure the
quality of drinking water. It has provided a large number of chlorine
tablets and ORS packets to all the municipal authorities for supplying
clean drinking water. Due to its prompt public health intervention,
the incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera and gastro-enteritis
has largely been contained. |
| |
| About 1,300 medical teams were deployed in all the districts
(excluding the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) for medical
check-ups and sanitation programs. In Mumbai, 133 medical teams were
working in different areas for containing diseases in the flood-affected
areas. Doctors were called from other districts and private medical
colleges. Leptospirosis remained a disease of concern in Mumbai and
Kalyan-Dombivli area during that time. However, appropriate and timely
intervention by the State Government ensured that the disease did
not spread. The Government provided doxycyclines in large numbers
for treating this disease. Ventilators were provided to various hospitals
in Mumbai where patients were in critical state. |
| |
Reconstruction
and Rehabilitation |
| |
The Government has initiated all the steps
for implementing the long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation.
As a first step towards this, the Government has provided Rs. 65 crores
to all the flood-affected districts for emergency repairs of all the
public utilities and civic infrastructure. The Government has also
taken a decision to construct temporary shelters for all those who
lost their homes. The Government has sanctioned Rs. 15,000 for constructing
a temporary shelter for each family.
|
| |
| The Government has announced assistance
for all the shopkeepers, traders, and hawkers. It would provide Rs.
10,000 for shop, Rs. 5,000 for stall, and Rs. 2,500 for hand-cart
owners. The distribution of assistance has already begun. The Government
has taken a decision to provide an assistance of Rs. 20,000 and Rs.
10,000 for big and small Ganpati idol-makers respectively. |
| |
| Since the farmers lost heavily during the
floods, the Government has provided topmost priority to providing
assistance for their crop losses. The Government has announced assistance
to farmers for their crops losses limited to a maximum of 2 hectares,
as follows: |
| |
| Sugarcane and bananas |
Rs. 10,000 per hectare |
| Horticulture |
Rs. 10,000 per hectare |
| Rice and Cotton |
Rs. 5,000 per hectare |
| Other crops |
Rs. 3,500 per hectare |
|
| |
| Further, the Government has taken a decision
to provide Rs. 25,000 per hectare to the farmers for those lands which
cannot be repaired, and Rs. 10,000 per hectare for repairing those
lands where it is feasible. The Government has also taken a decision
to provide assistance of Rs. 10,000 each for big animal and Rs. 1,000
each for small animal to the farmers who lost their cattle. |
| |
| The Government has convened meetings with
the banks and insurance companies for providing relief to all the
flood-affected people. Loans to the farmers and businessmen have been
rescheduled, and the interest on the extended period of loan has been
waived. The Government has asked all the Collectors to hold meetings
with the bankers at the village level for the purpose of rescheduling
the farmers’ loans. Similarly, insurance companies have been
instructed to settle all the insurance claims of business and homeowners
on an expeditious basis. |
|
| The Government would soon commence a program
for the restoration of infrastructure: roads, bridges, government
buildings, irrigation structures, sewerage and drainage. The Government
would immediately begin a program for restoration of all the public
utilities: water supply and power. It would also provide resources
for necessary repairs to schools and hospitals. The Government is
considering a special package of rehabilitation for women and disadvantaged
group. |
| |
| The State cabinet has taken decision on
the elaborate rehabilitation plans of flood-affected people in the
State. For the fully collapsed 17,000 houses, financial assistance
and loan @ Rs 40,000/- per house will be given by the State Government.
For partially collapsed houses, the assistance per house will be Rs
2,400/-.In the first phase, the Government plans to rehabilitate about
10000 families in 100 villages spread over 15 most-affected districts,
under which the Government will provide homestead land admeasuring
to 1500 sq. ft. and 1000 sq. ft. to the agricultural landholder and
non-agricultural land holders respectively, free of cost. |
| |
The Government has also taken a decision
to construct houses of built-up area of 250 to 300 sq. ft. free of
cost on the free land given by the Government for those flood-affected
people living in blue-zones. Also, efforts would be made to construct
maximum houses
under the Walmiki Awas Yojana. For the BPL families, houses would
be made available under the Indira Awas Yojana and the Central Government
would be requested to enhance the upper limit for the affected villages. |
| |
| The Government’s efforts in responding
to this natural calamity of extraordinary proportions in all the stages,
as mentioned above, shows its sensitivity and commitment to all the
issues arising from the floods. It was a huge challenge and task for
the State Government, which was attended with maximum attention and
urgency. In this endeavor, the Government of India provided a big
help to the State by releasing Rs. 1,000 crores from the National
Contingency Calamity Fund (NCCF), which facilitated the distribution
of relief assistance to the flood-affected community. The State Government
has introduced all the checks to ensure that the relief assistance
is used prudently and accountably. The Government has sought further
assistance from the Government of India to support its long-term reconstruction
and rehabilitation plan. |
*** |
|
