KERALA
Still a long way to go
ROY MATHEW
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The job of providing houses for affected families remains incomplete
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The killer waves that hit the Kerala coast a year ago left scenes of total devastation in Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam.
Special schemes were drawn up for these districts, and the Kerala Government and voluntary agencies mounted massive efforts for relief and rehabilitation.
But one year later, the work is far from complete.
After the immediate task of providing relief, the next challenge was building houses for 4,055 families.
The Government acquired land and prepared plans for normal and disaster resistant houses, and assigned voluntary agencies to the job of construction. Though the Government initially set a six-month deadline for completion, the target kept slipping.
While the 238 houses to be constructed at Edvanakkad have been built, work on 551 houses in Kollam district and 22 in Alappuzha district are yet to be completed. More than 20 voluntary agencies are funding the construction, each house costing between Rs. 2.5 lakhs and Rs. 4 lakhs. The Government gave upto Rs. 50,000 for repair of damaged houses.
Delays
Economic activity is yet to recover in areas such as Arattupuzha (Alappuzha district) and Alappad (Kollam district), despite support from voluntary agencies. There have been delays in replacing boats and nets, and families that lost breadwinners are unable to find employment.
Reconstruction of infrastructure is under way, but will take time. Additional Chief Secretary John Mathai, who is coordinating the rehabilitation efforts, said technical problems such as shortage of workers, nature of terrain and remoteness of area had affected construction work. The State's capacity for boat-building is limited. Construction of sea walls or raising of mangroves could not be done along the Alappuzha coast as the shore is still unstable.
No compensation
The Centre has promised Rs. 249.39 crores under the Rajiv Gandhi Tsunami Package. However, only Rs. 103.14 crores has been received, and expenditure under the package is only about Rs. 45 crores. Some people are yet to receive compensation from the Centre.
Disbursement of monetary benefits by the State Government is nearly complete. The Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund received about Rs. 40 crores.
Major infrastructure development projects such as construction of roads, bridges and fishing harbours — covering all nine districts — are being taken up with assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The ADB is providing Rs. 104 crores as grant and Rs. 142 crores as loan under its Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project. These projects are expected to he completed in three years.
TSUNAMI A YEAR AFTER
