A bridge connecting Valya Thanda in Khammam district and Mulkalapalli in Mahabubabad district got washed away by raging waters of Akeru river in recent rains.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) advisor and joint secretary in Home Ministry Col Kirti Pratap Singh will be leading a six member delegation to tour Khammam and Mahabubad regions for an assessment of the loss in floods in Telangana on Tuesday.
Officials from the finance ministry, agriculture ministry, Roads & Buildings ministry, rural development and National Remote Sensing Agency will be part of the team, informed Union Minister for Coal & Mines G. Kishan Reddy. He also had a chat with Col. Singh to brief him about his own tour to the flood hit areas on Sunday, said a press release on Monday.
BJP delegation meets 16th Finance Commission
Earlier, a delegation of BJP leaders led by Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender, secretaries – S. Prakash Reddy and K. Venkateswarlu met the 16th Finance Commission chairman Arvind Panagariya to consider setting up a dedicated fund of 1% of total allocation for natural calamities, make the funding pattern consistent as “90:10” across all states as a disaster has same contours irrespective of the state and adding heat wave as a notified disaster.
In a memorandum, the party requested the panel to State Disaster Mitigation Fund to build flood banks and other structures to prevent flooding, storm shelters, and other mechanism to mitigate natural calamities and disasters.
The money left over in this fund should be carried forward to the following fiscal year. A dedicated calamity fund with the flexibility to carry forward and repurpose funds ensures that Telangana remains financially prepared for disasters while allowing efficient use of resources for development projects.
A mandatory 1% allocation for renewable energy infrastructure and climate resilience shared by both states and the Centre, dedicated grants for SCs, STs, and OBCs and formula-based support for rural development for states with a larger share of rural and underdeveloped regions, incentivise performance on fiscal prudence and capital infrastructure, incentivising digitisation and just-in time payments, special backward region grants.
It has also suggested norms to prevent states from diverting funds, ensure funds released to the local bodies ought to be spent there only with district collector made responsible for any diversion, incentives for states focusing on reforming healthcare, education, environment and sustainable development and so on, said a press release.
Published – September 10, 2024 05:34 am IST