Among the several petitions submitted to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in Belagavi on Thursday, as he made one more visit to the flood-affected district, were five applications from Talkatnal village in Gokak taluk — all from families who have lost their houses and yet to get any compensation.
One of the victims, Gangavva Navi, is a widow with four children. She is living in the shed behind a temple in the village. She told The Hindu that no officer on survey duty had met her or written down her name when she went to register.
Savitri Madiwalar had a similar story. Her house had completely collapsed, but officials had marked her house as “needing minor repairs”. Lakkanna Pujeri said officials had rejected his claim, saying they could not find any documents showing that his house existed in the village.
The Chief Minister passed on the applications to Deputy Commissioner S.B. Bommanahalli, asking him to look into them.
- 32 people died and 761 animals were lost
- Around 1,12,702 families in 872 villages have been affected
- Crops on 2.21 lakh hectares of land have been destroyed, with loss estimated at ₹3,230 crore
- Of the 69,381 houses damaged, compensation has been paid for owners of 26,077
- 24,000 km of power lines, 6,000 km of road, 3,367 government buildings, and 1,146 drinking water schemes, worth ₹2,149 crore, lost
Officials who briefed Mr. Yediyurappa during a meeting said that of the 69,381 houses that had collapsed, including those damaged to varying degrees, compensation had been paid for the owners of around 26,077 houses. When some MLAs complained to the Chief Minister saying officials had not carried out an error-free survey, Mr. Yediyurappa lost his cool and said he would take strict action against erring officials. He later announced that owners of even houses with significant damage that were unfit to live in would be eligible for ₹5 lakh compensation, equal to that of the collapsed houses.
As per the data presented to the Chief Minister, the district has suffered losses of ₹11,193.03 crore and the State government has spent ₹867 crore towards compensation.
According to official estimates, 1,12,702 families in 872 villages of the district have been affected by the floods. Each affected family was promised an ex gratia payment of ₹10,000. But only the first two instalments of ₹2,000 each have been given to them. “We will release the rest of the ₹6,000 very soon,” the Chief Minister told journalists before the meeting.
The floods have caused large-scale destruction. As many as 32 people died and 761 animals — big and small and domestic birds — were lost. Of the 32 deaths, 28 have been compensated. One is pending for a forensic confirmation, another one for DNA confirmation, and two are pending for lack of claims by a kin.
Nearly 70,000 houses have been lost, with a total compensatory value of ₹3,000 crore. Of these buildings, officials have been able to build up documents of only about 53,000 and upload them on the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation website. Among these, the first instalment of ₹1 lakh, of the promised ₹5 lakh, has been given to only around 27,000 families.
Huge losses
Crops on 2.21 lakh hectares of land have been destroyed. The loss is estimated at ₹3,230 crore. Infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges, drinking water schemes, electrical installations, schools, government buildings, hospitals, and other public and private properties other than residential units, have been damaged.
They include 24,000 km of power lines and 6,000 km of road, 3,367 government schools and other buildings, and 1,146 drinking water schemes. The loss is estimated at ₹2,149 crore.
“Two months after the devastating floods in north Karnataka, the State government has released only about 8% of the required relief. This shows how serious is the government about north Karnataka,” said farmers’ leader Sidagouda Modagi.
He also held the Union government responsible for the delay in releasing funds to Karnataka.
