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Uttarakhand to bring in new disaster management, rehabilitation policy
The decision was taken by minister of state for disaster management (independent charge) Dhan Singh Rawat after a review meeting on Monday which was attended by MLAs of both ruling and Opposition parties of disaster-prone constituencies
Uttarakhand government will soon bring out a new disaster management and rehabilitation policy. The new policy will focus on quick rehabilitation of disaster-affected families.
The decision was taken by minister of state for disaster management (independent charge) Dhan Singh Rawat after a review meeting on Monday which was attended by MLAs of both ruling and Opposition parties of disaster-prone constituencies.
Rawat assured the MLAs that the new policy would focus on “ensuring quick rehabilitation of families which are affected by any natural disaster or calamities.” State’s current disaster management and rehabilitation policy was framed in 2011.
Opposition Congress MLA Manoj Rawat from Kedarnath constituency which witnessed floods in 2013, said, “We asked the minister to increase the compensation amount from ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh in case of complete damage of the house. We also asked him to define ‘family’ in the policy because in hilly areas, usually there are two families living in the same house but during a disaster, only the family which was included in the family register during the 2011 census is considered, which is unfair.”
The Congress MLA also said that all the legislators also urged the minister to frame the new policy “considering the next 20-25 years.”
Minister Rawat said that under the existing policy, “1,086 families from 43 villages have been rehabilitated since 2012 at a cost of ₹45.63 crore.”
The minister said the department will hold another review meeting after 10 days. “In that meeting, we will consider the suggestions given by the MLAs for the framework of new disaster management and rehabilitation policy,” he said.
