HC not satisfied over flood relief

Expressing displeasure over alleged inadequate relief efforts by the Bihar government for the flood victims, the Patna High Court on Monday directed it to involve non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in its relief work.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Narayan Roy and KK Mandal, which had converted media reports on inadequate relief into a PIL, said citing a TV channel report that NGOs willing to contribute to relief effort were not being involved.

Stating that even the international bodies like the UNICEF had pitched in to mitigate the suffering of the flood-hit, the bench observed there was a pressing need to take the services of the local NGOs in tackling the problem of insufficient relief.

The bench directed the government to ensure effective utilisation of panchayat level officials in reaching relief in each affected village and proper monitoring of the relief operations.

It asked the disaster management secretary Manoj Srivastav to present to the court another action taken report on relief on August nine when it would resume hearing on the PIL.

Amicus curiae in the case Ganesh Prasad Singh alleged that a large number of people in remote areas were on the verge of starvation as relief was not reaching them.