Central team begins visit to Maha flood-hit areas from Aug 29

A Central team will be visiting Pune and Konkan divisions to assess the damage caused by recent floods, a senior Maharashtra government official said here on Wednesday.

The state government has sought Rs 6813 crore in financial assistance from the Centre after heavy rains and floods caused a widescale damage and claimed lives of 60 people.

"A team of seven officials from various Central departments will begin its visit to the Pune and Konkan divisions to assess the damages caused by heavy rainfall and flood," said a senior Relief and Rehabilitation department official.

Konkan administrative division comprises seven districts of Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

The Pune division comprises Sangli, Pune, Kolhapur, Satara and Solapur districts.

Kolhapur and Sangli districts in western Maharashtra were badly affected by floods caused by unprecedented rains and release of water from dams earlier this month.

"Some officials of the team will visit flood-hit areas of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. They will be briefed first tomorrow (Thursday) morning before they actually begin their tour," said Deepak Mhaisekar, Pune Divisional Commissioner.

The teams will also interact with affected people for making their assessment during the three-day visit before interacting with the state government officials.

When asked about the actual timeline for disbursement of funds from the Centre, the Relief and Rehabilitation department official said, "It generally takes a month for the Centre to sanction funds. The state government has already disbursed cash as well as funds into the bank accounts of the flood-hit people".

He said funds to be sanctioned by the Centre will be adjusted against the disbursement effected by the state government.

The official said the disbursement will not be stuck in the event of the model code of conduct for the Maharashtra assembly polls, due in September-October, kicking in.

Maharashtra had received excess rainfall in the second week of August for four days which led to heavy flooding in Kolhapur and Sangli districts, where many rivers had crossed the danger marks by several feet.

Noted environmentalist Madhav Gadgil and South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People had blamed "lapses" by the state government in dam management for the floods.