Lalu lauds PM for releasing Rs 148 crore for tackling Bihar floods

New Delhi, Aug 9 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today slammed the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for its ''insensitive and inept'' handling of the flood situation in the state, but hoped that the Centre's step of releasing Rs 148 crore from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) would speed up relief and rehabilitation measures.

''Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who discussed the flood situation in the country at a cabinet meeting here today, released Rs 148 crore on his own to tackle the natural calamity in Bihar,'' Mr Prasad told reporters.

The RJD President, who was accompanied by Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Company Affairs Minister Premchand Gupta, said Bihar had an opening balance of Rs 550 crore in the CRF, but it was amazing that the state government had not sought any help from it to fight out the disaster.

''The Prime Minister has shown his generosity by releasing Rs 148 crore for the state on his own without seeking a utilisation certificate from the Bihar government,'' he said.

He also pointed out that Bihar could have approcahed the Centre for financial assistance from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF).

With regard to the Railways, he said the losses suffered were to the tune of Rs three crore. ''The Railways could have suffered extensive losses, but it acted in right earnest and therey minimised the damages.' Mr Prasad, however, said Bihar would get a permanent solution to the recurring problem of floods only through collaboative efforts between India and Nepal.

''Year after year, Bihar gets battered by floods because of rivers in Nepal overflowing into northern parts of the state,'' he said, adding that the two countries would have to speed up efforts to find a permanent solution to it.

The RJD President said several districts of the state, including Sitamarhi, Darbhanga and Madhubani, had been battered by the worst floods in last three decades, resulting in a huge loss of lives and properties.

In times of need, he said, army troops are also pressed into service for providing rescue and rehabilitation measures. ''But the fact is that the state government has not made any formal request to the Centre so far to provide air support, army troops, financial aid and foodgrain.'' In addition, the state government would have made a request to the Centre to send a central team to assess the stuation in the state, he said, adding that it smacked of ''a criminal negligence'' on the part of the Nitish government.

He, however, said the problem of floods could not be effectively dealt with only through the CRF. ''I have requested the Prime Minister to expedite the setting up of a Task Force for combating floods and other natural calamities,'' he added.

UNI