Maharashtra: Konkan shelters and bunds in Centre's Rs 460 crore cyclone plan

MUMBAI: Three months after cyclone Nisarga hit the Konkan region, the NDA government at the Centre has drafted a Rs 460 crore National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) for the 700 km coastline along Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.
The Centre proposes to release Rs 367.8 crore while the state will have share Rs 91.72 crore. It is proposed to construct 11 multi-purpose cyclone shelters, 471km of underground cabling and 26.26km of saline embankments.
When Nisarga hit the Konkan in the first week of June, 71 lives were lost and 2,391 houses completely damaged. Total damages were estimated at Rs 1,000 crore. The NDRF deployed 17 teams and rescued 1,221 persons while evacuating 1,490.
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Amol Kolhe and Supriya Sule of the NCP. They sought information on whether the Centre had drafted a permanent mechanism to deal with such calamities.
They were informed that the primary responsibility for disaster management rests with the state and financial assistance is provided to affected states from the state disaster response fund and national disaster response fund in accordance with prescribed norms.
Even before the information from the state could reach the home ministry, it had constituted separate inter-ministerial central teams for the flood affected states.
"There are institutional mechanisms at the national, state and district level to coordinate during floods and cyclone. The Centre has established a robust early warning system and has significantly enhanced the accuracy of weather forecasts. Mock exercises and community awareness programmes too are conducted on a regular basis," a bureaucrat said.
Raigad Lok Sabha member Sunil Tatkare of the NCP said the Centre must come up with a special package for relief and rehabilitation of people affected by Nisarga.
"We want a special cyclone risk mitigation project on par with Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. We feel that there should be an early warning system, cyclone risk mitigation infrastructure, technical assistance for multi-hazard risk management and project management and implementation. We need more funds for the purpose. The NDA government should make a special provision for the Konkan region," he said.
He demanded that the Rs 460 crore project should be implemented without delay. "All the departments involved in the project management should ensure that all the works are completed immediately after the monsoon," Tatkare said.
Sule had sought information on whether the government was implementing the national cyclone risk mitigation project with funding from the World Bank. She had asked about the quantum of loans to be provided by the World Bank, and the share of the Centre and the state.