The government has asked scientists to work towards developing a system to predict cloudburst, the Rajya Sabha was told today as it discussed the flood situation which has claimed lives of 196 people and caused other damage in various parts of the country.
During the discussion, members from various parties questioned the government preparedness in dealing with natural calamities and pressed for creation of a separate ministry for the purpose.
Several members sought steps for putting in place a warning system for floods and cloudbursts.
Replying to the discussion, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said India does not have technology to predict cloudburst which develops over a very short span of time (1-3 hours).
In fact, no country in the world has been able to predict cloudburst, he added.
"So it is difficult to forecast...It happens in a very small locality. The effect is so devastating that there are huge losses," the minister said while replying to the Calling Attention Motion on situation arising due to floods.
The government, he said, has asked the scientists to work towards developing a system to predict cloudbust.
"We are hopeful that in near future, efforts of scientists to forecast the cloudburst will bring result. Efforts are there, not only Indian scientists but scientists from across the globe are making a combined effort," he said.
During the ongoing South West monsoon season, various parts of the country like Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala have been affected by heavy rains/flash floods/and rain oriented calamities of varying degrees.
As per information, 196 people have lost their lives, 2,184 cattle heads have perished, 38,285 houses/huts have been damaged and about 0.357 hecatares of crop area affected, the minister said.
Responding to questions about preparedness, Rijiju said the primary responsibility to deal with natural clamities lies with the state government concerned.
The Central government supplements the efforts of state governments by providing financial and logistic support to effectively deal with such exigent situations, he added.
He said Centre extends assistance through State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund.
"Primary responsibility lies with state governments because we cannot act at our own because we have to work with state governments," the minister said.
Replying to questions and clarifications, he said the Home Ministry has emergency control room which functions 24X7.
Maintaining that the country has been receiving heavy
rainfall from June to September each year during the monsoons, Rijiju said, "the rainfall during this period accounts for about 70-90 per cent of the total rainfall over India. As a consequence of this rainfall, flooding of rivers is a natural phenomenon."
He said the relief given during natural calamities is a temporary one and not enough.
An amount of Rs 8,938 crore has been allocated as central share to all the states in their SDRF accounts for 2016-17. So far, 3,431.02 crore have been released as first instalment of central share of SDRF for the year 2016-17 to 20 states.
During the minister's reply, the House also witnessed a brief argument between Congress member Anand Sharma and Deputy Chairman P J Kurien.
Sharma wanted to ask a question to the minister but Kurien said it could be done only after Rijiju finishes his reply. "You may be senior but I have to run the House," Kurien said and asked Sharma to listen to the Chair.
Sharma agreed and asked his question later.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, several leaders questioned the official data on damages caused in calamities.
Dilip Kumar Tirkey (BJD) sought a separate Ministry to deal with the calamities saying the present system of having the department under the Home Ministry, was not functioning well.
He got support from JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav who questioned the effectiveness of the National Disaster Management Authority and also demanded a separate Ministry to take care of the matter.
Many other leaders questions the effectiveness of the authorities and agencies concerned.
"You talk about steps taken after the flood, but what are the steps being taken for prevention of flood," questioned A U Singh Deo of BJD.
He said there was urban flooding, river side flooding and flooding in the hills due to various reasons, including rampant construction activity.
Deo said it was a national shame that even New Delhi gets flooded after an hour of rain.
Viplove Thakur of the Congress demanded that the Centre be more pro-active and release special funds for maintenance of roads in the hills which are affected by floods.
D Raja (CPI) said while he agreed with Rijiju that the primary responsibility lies with state governments, there was a need for a national level understanding on the subject.
He pointed out that the House, during the last session, discussed drought and this session was discussing floods. "In he next session, we will discuss either flood or drought... The country needs a proper water management policy," he said.
Raja also spoke on the importance of river linking.
