Despite the orders of chief minister Ashok Chavan, the district administrations concerned have not completed the task of drawing up the panchnamas of immovable properties lost and standing crops destroyed by Cyclone Phyan. As a result, the state cabinet has had to make do with releasing partial compensation of Rs14 crore at the moment.
The state has also announced additional help for collapsed houses, dead cattle, torn fishing nets, and damaged boats. The legal heirs of 28 fishermen who died in the cyclone will now get Rs2 lakh as compensation as opposed to Rs1 lakh as per the standing orders. Similarly, the maximum compensation to be given for loss of fishing trawlers and boats has been raised to Rs2 lakh and Rs60,000, respectively.
What comes as a major relief to the affected families is that the waiting period has been reduced from seven years to two months. “The compensation will be given if the missing fishermen don’t come back in two months,” M Ramesh Kumar, additional chief secretary for relief and rehabilitation, said. “The cabinet decided to reduce this period to give some respite to the families.”
According to sources, the total loss caused by cyclone and heavy rains is expected to be over Rs125 crore. “The damage in Ratnagiri alone is expected to be over Rs70 crore,” an official said. “Orchards of mango, banana, and coconut have been damaged to a large
extent.”
Bhaskar Jadhav, minister of state for urban development and forests, who hails from the Konkan, denied that the procedure of registration of panchnamas was slow. “It is still raining there which is creating difficulties in the procedure,” he said. “Once the panchnamas are completed, additional help can be thought of.”
Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal said that an inquiry would be ordered to find out if the state had failed in alerting fishermen about the cyclone.
Comments