MPs seeks a ministry for natural calamities

With several parts of the nation reeling under repeated natural calamities, several MPs in the RS on Tuesday demanded a separate ministry to deal with natural calamities like floods and drought. The MPs also sought a more proactive approach by the Modi government in releasing funds to affected states. Several members participating in a discussion on a calling attention motion regarding the situation arising due to floods questioned the official data on damage caused by such calamities and sought steps to put in place a warning system for floods and cloudbursts.

Replying to the debate, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju pointed out that the primary responsibility of dealing with natural calamities lies with the state government concerned. He admitted that 196 people lost their lives, 2,184 cattle perished and 38,285 houses and huts were damaged, besides 0.357 lakh hectares of crop area, due to floods this year. The minister said the country receives heavy rainfall from June to September each year during the southwest monsoon. “The rainfall during this period accounts for about 70-90 per cent of the total rainfall over India. As a consequence of this rainfall, flooding of rivers is a natural phenomenon,” he said. Dilip Kumar Tirkey of the BJD sought a separate ministry to deal with calamities, saying the present system of a department under the home ministry was not functioning well.