Gangtok,Oct 19 (Representative) The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved a number of schemes to alleviate the losses suffered by the people because of the flash floods earlier this month. The cabinet gave its approval to the Sikkim Punarvaas Awaas Yojana, under which 2100 houses will be constructed, in a safe and suitable location, to be alloted to the owners of houses that have been totally washed away in the Teesta Flash Floods. The government would construct the houses on a government land or a land donated/acquired for this purpose.Under Sikkim Janta Housing Colony, 2000 Houses will be constructed in a safe and suitable location, to rehabilitate the tenants of houses that have been totally washed away in the Teesta Flash Floods and tenants of houses that have been severely/partially damaged by the floods and are no more inhabitable. The tenants would be allotted houses under the scheme on rent .But no rent would be charged by the government for first three years of allotment. On completion of three years, rent as assessed by the government shall be payable by the allottees. The severely/partially damaged houses would be inspected by a Technical Team which would assess the stability of these houses and certify whether these houses are habitable or not. In order to be eligible for both these schemes, the beneficiaries should be in possession of Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification or Parcha of landed property anywhere in Sikkim, Voter Card or Residential Certificate of Sikkim. The construction of houses under the above-mentioned schemes would follow the same design and estimate of Sikkim Garib Awaas Yojana, and on-going scheme of the government. For immediate support and assistance to the owners of such houses and the tenants who were staying in those houses, the government would consider granting Rs 5000 as monthly rent for three months to enable the victims at the relief camp to move to a rented accommodation and get back to normalcy at the earliest.
In addition, the Government would provide basic household items like kitchen utensils, gas stove, gas cylinder, mattress, blankets and other daily household items to help the victims settle down in the rented accommodation. Since, there will be an acute demand for rented accommodation in the affected areas, the government appealead to all the house owners in these areas not to increase the rental charges beyond the normal market rate. Action will be taken under Disaster Management Act against those house owners who charge exorbitant rent at this hour of crisis. After clearance of debris and muck at the affected areas the Building & Housing Department will carry out a stability study to verify and confirm whether the damaged houses are fit for habitation or not. Similarly, the Roads & Bridges Department along with Rural Development Department and Border Road Organization (BRO) will carry out a study to know the stability of the bridges that are affected by the flashflood, in order to take up the required repair works.The District Collectors will set up camps at the affected areas for issue of Voter Card, Adhar Card, Land Parcha, Ration Card, Birth Certificate, Certificate of Identification, Community Certificate, Trade License etc. for those victims who have lost these documents in the flood. In order to support the students who have lost all their belonging in Flash Flood in Teesta River, the Government would provide a onetime grant of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees TenThousand) per students who have been genuinely affected by the Flash Flood for purchase of new uniform and note books.
The new text books will be provided by the Education Department. The Cabinet has granted approval and financial sanction of Rs. 881,91,00,000/- (Rupees Eight Hundred and Eighty-One Crore and Ninety – One Lakhs Only) towards Construction of 2100 Houses under ‘Punarvaas Awaas Yojana’ and 2000 Houses under ‘Janta Housing Colony’ for the victims of Flash Floods in Teesta River which will be implemented by Rural Development Department. The Cabinet has also taken a decision to constitute a technical committee of eminent scientists of the country comprising of Glaciologist, Geologist, Seismologist, Hydrologist etc. in consultation with NDMA. The committee shall look into the causes of the recent disaster that struck the state. Further, the committee shall undertake necessary investigation and suggest further course of action to the government. Since, the state has a large number of glacial lakes and some are reported to be increasing in its size, the committee shall also suggest a comprehensive plan of action for its management, in view of the recent disaster. The Cabinet also directed the Chief Secretary, Vijay Bhushan Pathak, IAS, to immediately convene the State Level Bankers Committee Meeting and to ensure that recent circular of the RBI on Relief Measures by Banks in areas affected by natural calamities is implemented in letter and spirit.