Shishir Prashant: Where is the relief fund going?

Opposition smells a scam in Uttarakhand rehabilitation programme

Floods in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand in mid-June were ferocious and deadly. Thousands of people lost virtually everything - family members, jobs and houses.

Six months after the deluge, some semblance of order is being restored with the government claiming it has completed major relief works in the five worst-affected districts of Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Tehri. Relief amounting to Rs 300 crore has already been disbursed though people complain that they have not received any money. This Rs 300 crore is part of the initial package of Rs 1,000 crore announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in June after an aerial survey of the affected area. The government is still to spend the remaining Rs 700 crore.

Even before it can do that, the prime minister on December 9 cleared a comprehensive package of Rs 7,346 crore to be spent over three years. "This package will be utilised mainly for reconstruction works in the hills," said Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, who is otherwise not in the loop regarding the spending. An additional Rs 100 crore will be given for all those costs which are not listed under the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) guidelines but are borne by the state government.

Keeping in view scores of scandals that have shaken the government in the past, opposition parties are demanding they be included in a monitoring committee that should also have experts from various fields. This demand has been raised in the general context of accusations that the government is spending money which is yet to reach the people it is meant for.

The government says it has rented houses for people whose homes were destroyed in the floods; but leader of opposition in Uttarakhand Ajay Bhatt has alleged that in Kedarnath and Pithoragarh districts a large number of people are still living in tents.

Experts say money is no constraint in the affected areas. "A large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the corporate sector have already spent crores of rupees in the hills. The problem is restoring jobs, livelihoods and reviving tourism in the area," said Anil Jaggi, chairman of Society for Inclusive Development (SFID), an NGO which has undertaken various relief and rehabilitation works in the affected areas.

With the closure of portals of all the Chardham shrines, the tourism department is focusing on revival of tourism in Mussoorie by organising winter carnivals and car rallies. But it has not done much on the revival of tourism in the flood-affected hilly areas. "We have chalked out plans to revive tourism in the hilly areas. It will take time," said a top government official.

The ferocity of floods was such that it badly damaged most of the roads. But what is the way out? Construct all weather roads, say top officials in the state planning commission. In a new plan submitted to the government, the planning commission has proposed all-weather roads comprising 99.6 km length of 14 tunnels that would reduce the distance and travelling time.

The cost of the tunnel project will be Rs 18,791.5 crore, says Harshpati Uniyal, adviser to the state planning commission. But the plan of constructing all-weather roads has not cut much ice with the chief minister so far.

"The existing road network in the Chardham area of Uttarakhand and towns had been constructed along the river valley and close to big rivers like Alaknanda, Mandakini and Bhagirathi. This alignment is most vulnerable to floods, landslides and subsidence. Besides exorbitant cost of maintenance, massive loss of life and property has become an annual feature. These roads are a lifeline of the Garhwal region which is totally dependent on tourism with more than one to two million pilgrims and tourists visiting every year. These roads are also very strategic because of the China border. Hence all-weather roads are very important," Uniyal said.

This project, he said, would help in reducing the distance from 813 km to 389 km. Thy would establish new connectivity to tourist destinations like Dodi Taal and Madhya Maheshwar.

But the chief minister is focusing on the reconstruction of existing roads. He has also asked the Centre to award a major portion of roads under the Border Road Organization to be given to the state Public Works Department, a suggestion that doesn't smell good. It is in this context that rumours have begun about him being replaced.