Bangalore: Yeddy Hints at Fresh Taxes to Fund Flood Relief Works

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Oct 11: In addition to resorting padayatras along with his cabinet ministerial colleagues to  raise funds for taking up relief and rehabilitation works in the flood-devastated northern Karnataka districts, which have so far yielded over Rs 700 crore in cash and kind, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has hinted at levying fresh taxes to mobilise the necessary resources.

Though the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who undertook an aerial survey of flood-ravaged Raichur district on Saturday and later held discussions with the chief minister and his ministers and state government officials, announced an immediate interim relief of Rs 1,000 crore and promised to release more central assistance after studying the report of the Central team of officers who will be rushed to the state to assess the damage, Yeddyurappa said the government needed massive funds for taking up the rehabilitation of the nearly 18 million people affected by the week-long deluge.

The chief minister, who  held a meeting of leaders of all political parties in Vidhana Soudha on Sunday in which union law minister M Veerappa Moily and minister of state for railways K H Muniyappa participated, told reporters after the two-hour-long meeting that the government will have to shift at least 219 villages  located on river banks and other constantly flood-prone low-lying areas and rebuild thousands of houses.

"Care will be taken to ensure that the fresh taxes will not burden the common man,’’ said the chief minister, who is also holding the finance portfolio. He, however, declined to indicate when he would be imposing the taxes.

The all party meeting, in which former chief minister and JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy, KPCC  President  R V Deshpande,  Congress opposition leaders in the assembly an council Siddaramaiah and V S Ugrappa respectively,  state BJP president D V Sadananda Gowda and other legislature floor leaders of different political parties participated, urged the government to ensure complete transparency in the utilization of the funds collected through public donations or central grants and take utmost care to check pilferage or leakage of funds.  They also wanted the government to ensure that middlemen were completely prevented from the distribution of compensation or grant of funds and assistance for reconstruction of houses.

Siddaramaiah, Ugrappa, Kumaraswamy, M C Nanaih, Dr M P Nadagouda and other opposition leaders, who took part in the discussion, also urged the government to convene a special session of the state legislature to discuss the unprecedented flood havoc in as many as 18 districts, particularly all the entire north Karnataka region, claiming 226 lives and widespread devastation involving estimated total damages of over Rs 20,000 crore.

Responding to the suggestions made by the leaders of all political parties, the chief minister declared that the government would constitute monitoring committees and ensure total transparency in the utilization of funds for rehabilitation.  He said the decision on convening the special session of the state legislature would be taken after examining all aspects as the first priority before the government was chalking out fool-proof strategy and planning for rehabilitation of the millions of affected people.

Moily, who had accompanied the Prime Minister when he made the announcement regarding grant of Rs 1,000 crore interim relief for tackling flood relief works in the state, pointed out that the government’s presentation of facts was deficient. Care should have been taken to present a comprehensive and factual presentation with facts and figures instead of concentrating merely on presenting visual presentation of pictures regarding the devastation, he said.

Karnataka’s law and parliamentary affairs minister V Suresh Kumar, who was also present in Raichur during the Prime Minister’s visit, felt the state government had made a detailed presentation which was appreciated by the Prime Minister himself. He also pointed out that the four union minsters in the UPA regime comprising Veerappa Moily, S M Krishna, both of whom being former chief ministers, and Mallikarjuna Kharge as well as K H Muniyappa, should have guided the state government properly in the larger interests of Karnataka and its people.

The chief minister also held a meeting of the state BJP legislature party in the afternoon prior to  an emergency meeting of the state cabinet which is being late Sunday night.