TN: Absence of CFPS causes resentment

Tiruchirapalli, July 21: The Tamil Nadu government's inordinate delay in taking up a concrete Comprehensive Flood Prevention Scheme (CFPS) till date has caused resentment among the people.

The PWD had yesterday issued a 'flood alert' to the delta district administrations to take precautionary measures, in view of the Stanley reservoir crossing its Full Reservoir Level (FRL), following heavy inflow from the Karnataka reservoirs.

It was during the last quarter of 2005, that an unprecedented calamity struck the state in which all the delta districts bore the brunt of heavy human loss, besides crop and property damage running into several crores of rupees.

This prompted the then AIADMK government, led by J Jayalalithaa to announce a CFPS for the vulnerable flood-prone delta districts of Tiruchirapalli, Perambalur, Karur and Thanjavur.

The Centre had deputed a high - level team headed by Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary D S Mishra to the flood ravaged areas.

The team, after touring the flood affected areas in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, had announced in Tiruchirapalli on November 18, 2005 that they would recommend a 'Plan Measure' to the Centre to ensure that the infrastructure in Tamil Nadu was sufficiently strong to bear flood disasters in the future.

Later, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Finance Minister P Chidambaram had made an aerial survey on November 27, 2005 and announced that another Central team would be deputed to the state to assess the damage and take some concrete steps.

A two-member high level team led by Union Planning Commission Director S S Ganapathy then toured the affected areas and announced that the delta districts had witnessed terrible damages of crops, roads, houses, besides silt formation in several thousands of acres of agricultural land.

The River Conservancy Division of the PWD, Tiruchirapalli region had also sent a mega proposal during January 2006 to the state government, seeking Rs 384 crore to check floods and inundation in three vulnerable districts in the Cauvery delta and also for strengthening the Cauvery and Coleroon river banks to a cumulative length of 225 km.

The AIADMK regime had accepted in principle the proposal and before the scheme could take a shape, the government had stepped down, following the completion of its term.

UNI