Centre Approves Rs 2,500 Crore For Kerala Flood Relief,Wants Rs 290 Crore Back For Rescue Operations
New Delhi, Nov 30: The central government has approved an additional sum of Rs 2,500 crore for relief and rehabilitation work in Kerala, three months after floods ravaged 14 districts of the state, killing 483 people.
The relief amount sanctioned by the Centre is in addition to the Rs 600 crore it had granted as interim relief earlier, Indian Express reported. It, however, falls far short of the Rs 4,800 crore sought by the Pinarayi Vijayan government in September, when it had submitted a memorandum to the Centre, detailing the losses.
The relief fund was cleared by a committee headed by union home secretary Rajiv Gauba, and will now be sent to a high-level committee headed by home minister Rajnath Singh, who will announce the package along with finance minister Arun Jaitley and agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh.
Following the furore over the Centre turning down the UAE’s offer of Rs 700 crore aid, the Centre had released Rs 600 crore as advance assistance.
According to a preliminary estimate, the loss and damage due to the rain fury was Rs 20,000 crore, but Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said it would be much more. The deluge in the state was dubbed as the worst in a century and caused widespread destruction.
The Centre, while approving additional funds for Kerala, has reportedly also sought Rs 290 crore from the cash-strapped state.
Vijayan told the Assembly on Thursday that the Centre sought the amount towards the cost of launching aircraft for the rescue mission during the recent floods and supplying rations to flood-affected people.
He also said the amount that reached the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, around Rs 2700 crore, would not be sufficient to meet the cost of flood-relief activities.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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No more street vending on B’luru’s main roads, as govt plans to bring new policy for street hawkers
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the state government has decided to formulate a new policy for footpaths in Bengaluru, under which street vending will not be allowed on main roads and sub-main roads.
Addressing the media after a budget preparation meeting and executive meeting of GBA corporations at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said discussions were held with MLAs from the GBA region regarding the corporations’ budgets and key civic issues.
Leader of Opposition R. Ashok also participated in the meeting and shared his views. Officials from multiple departments, including police, BESCOM, BMRCL, BWSSB and BDA, along with ministers and legislators, were present.
He stated that all five municipalities have prepared their individual budgets, while MLAs have submitted their demands, including calls for ward-wise grants.
“We have decided to bring a new policy for footpaths. Citizens are struggling to walk as footpaths are encroached upon by street vendors,” Shivakumar said.
Highlighting the need to balance livelihoods and public convenience, he added that “a separate space will be provided for street vendors, and specific roads will be designated for their business,” ensuring that pedestrians can use footpaths without obstruction. He noted that there was unanimous agreement among MLAs on this approach.
Issuing a warning to vendors, Shivakumar said that authorities will act against those violating the rules. “If vendors operate during the day and leave their carts on the roadside at night, authorities will clear them. People should be aware of this,” he said.
Providing data on street vendors, he said that around 60,000 vendors have registered so far, of which 30,000 have applied for vehicles, and a tender has already been floated.
“Only those with street vendor identity cards will be allowed to do business. Those without ID cards will not be permitted to operate on the streets,” he added.
