- Home/
- Audit Body CAG Finds Fault In Kerala Government's Flood Management
Audit Body CAG Finds Fault In Kerala Government's Flood Management
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has picked holes in the flood management of the Kerala government, saying the flood plains in the state are yet to be demarcated and the flood plain zoning law is yet to be enacted.
The authorities had failed to issue precautionary alerts or warning when the deluge had wreaked havoc in the southern state in 2018, it said in a latest report.
"The Kerala State Water Policy 2008 was not updated in accordance with the National Water Policy and lacked provisions for flood control and flood management in the state," the CAG said in the report titled "Preparedness and Response to floods in Kerala" which was tabled in the state Assembly on Thursday.
Pointing to lack of large scale flood hazard map in the southern state, the agency said the state's Disaster Management Plan includes flood susceptibility map not conforming to Central Water Commission (CWC) criteria for flood prone areas.
Only six rain gauges against the requirement of 32 were available for rainfall estimation in Periyar basin by IMA, it detailed.
The CAG also found that project for obtaining real time data on rainfall, stream-flow etc did not deliver reliable data on real time basis even after a lapse of five years.
"Communication infrastructure was non-functional in some areas including dam sites and government offices during or subsequent to the 2018 floods," it said.
Though 7112 works of immediate repair and restoration of damages in 2018 floods were approved for execution under the State Disaster Response Fund, 18 per cent of the works were yet to be completed even after a lapse of two years and eight months, the report added.
Meanwhile, the CAG's Finance audit report, also tabled in the Assembly, said that the state did not achieve any of the targets fixed in the Medium Term Fiscal Plan.
"The overall debt as a percentage of GSDP for 2019-20 increased from 31.05 per cent to 32.07 per cent," it added.
Revenue receipts of the state increased from Rs 69,033 crore in 2015-16 to 90,225 crore in 2019-20, recording a growth of 31 per cent during the last five years.
The CAG also continued to criticize the state government's off-budget borrowing through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and the Kerala Social Security Pension Limited.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Kerala has been hit by the worst floods in a 100 years. The Kerala Government estimates Rs 21,000 crore will be needed to rebuild the state. The funds are required to rebuild hundreds of flooded villages, thousands of damaged and destroyed homes and 10,000 kilometres of ravaged roads.
This Onam as Kerala struggles to rebuild after the most devastating floods in a century, NDTV has organised a special telethon to raise funds for Kerala. We have specific goals - to enable the rebuilding of villages in the worst-affected districts and provide immediate assistance in terms of rehabilitation and food kits to people in the worst affected areas . All donations will go directly to our partner NGO Plan India.
Our focus will be coverage that makes a difference, stories with a heart, standing by people and making their experience a shared one to effect change.
NDTV chose to report on this massive crisis with unwavering focus and commitment; having done that, now we look, as NDTV always does, to go beyond the news and make a difference to people's lives.
Opinion: A Malayalam Sleeper Hit Spotlights Unsung Heroes Of 2018 FloodsAnand Mathew
Thursday May 25, 2023Through the microcosm of a small town in Kerala, '2018' tells the story of ordinary citizens coming together to save those in need, as they confront an unimaginable catastrophe.
Blogs: बाढ़ की वजह इंसानों की बनाई नीतियां?Ravish Kumar
Saturday August 10, 2019ज़मीन पर बाढ़ के कारण इंसानों की बनाई नीतियां हैं जिसे मैन मेड क्राइसिस कहते हैं. प्राकृतिक संसाधनों का बेख़ौफ़ इस्तमाल जलवायु परिवर्तन के कारणों को बढ़ाता है. इस बाढ़ को दो तरह से समझिए. दो महीने की बारिश अगर दो हफ्ते में हो जाए तो क्या होगा. क्यों ऐसा हो रहा है. आप मानें या न मानें जो लोग ऊंचे बांधों, कार्बन उत्सर्जन, और नदियों के किनारे निर्माण कार्यों को लेकर चेतावनी देते रहे हैं, जिन्हें हम एक्सपर्ट कहते हैं, बुलाते हैं और सुनकर भुला देते हैं, उनका मज़ाक उड़ाते हैं, लेकिन उनकी एक एक बात सही साबित होती जा रही है.
