December 7, 2015
Sudip Bandyopadhyay speaks in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the drought situation in the country
Thank you Deputy Speaker Sir.
Last week we discussed the issue of flood in which the matter of drought also came up. I do not want to go into allegations or accusations against the government. Natural calamities are not under anybody’s control; they can hit any part of the country at any time, as it happened in your state, Sir, in Tamil Nadu.
Drought has affected different parts of the country. According to some people fifty percent of the country is affected by drought. The states majorly include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, parts of Karnataka, Odisha, and few districts of West Bengal.
It is our observation and we want to ask the honourable minister also, what is the procedure of assessment of releasing the funds for disasters? NDRF supplies some amount of money to the SDRF. When some natural calamity takes place, these funds are utilised for the people. But when a major disaster takes place, a central team is sent to the State. They coordinate with the officials State government, stay there for few days and ultimately come back to Delhi and ultimately fix an amount which far less from the reality on ground.
I said this on the previous day, and before me the friend from AIADMK was also accusing, that there is a disparity between the total demand for funds and the allotted amount. It is almost 20% of the demand. What is the actual process of allotment? Today our honourable Chief Minister is coming to Delhi. She is supposed to discuss these issues with the honourable Prime Minister.
I said this on the last day and reiterate that the eastern zone of the country – Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam – has been neglected by successive governments since independence. The eastern zone has been a victim of regional imbalance and financial disparity. West Bengal is worst affected. We feel that Bengal is targeted. A loan of Rs 2.30 lakh crore has come up on the shoulder of the new government and there has been no response from the present Central government for a special package for Bengal.
Flood had affected West Bengal in July; there has been drought in the districts of Bardhaman, West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. State government has sent a report to the Centre but no money has been released according to the letter written by the Chief Minister of the State to the Central government. How will common people survive? How will they maintain their livelihood? It is not possible for a state government to take challenge of such a disastrous situation.
Let us give some hope to the common people and farmers. Facility of waiving of bank loans must be provided to people associated with farming. A positive announcement must be made from the House. Repeatedly we have made fervent appeals on several occasions that crop insurance can be one of the major reliefs to those farmers who have suffered heavy losses due to natural calamities.
In Bengal there was a major cyclone called Aila which had a devastating effect. Even storms have ruinous effects at places. It is not possible for a State to tackle all these issues. Central government must rise to the occasion. As they send representatives when disaster takes place, they can send representatives before too. They can make assessment of how many farmers are enrolled with crop insurance or how many of them require waiving of loans.
This is not a question of any allegation or accusation against the Central government. Eight states have been affected by drought. Let us not go into which state is run by which party. All sufferers are Indians. Government must rise to the occasion with a transparent outlook, positive direction and farsightedness. They must come with a positive plan.
There are many schemes of the Centre to give protection to the people during calamities. How many of them are actually implemented? Members raise these issues on the floor of the House with a hope that government will give a positive plan signal. Affected people must feel that a positive plan of action has emerged from the discussion in the Parliament. They want to see that discussions and debates are result-oriented.
We must give some hope to the affected people. The government must give some hope to the affected state governments. The government must make a very positive plan system. After independence Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the first 5-year Plan; subsequently several 5-year plans were installed to give priority to development in the newly independent country. It was a mark of his farsightedness.
This government must have a very positive vision. I urge the hon. Minister to take up all such issues. I again repeat that it eastern zone of the country is worst affected; other parts of the country are well taken care of. West Bengal is at a juncture facing crisis due to a huge loan. With such a condition, our government is functioning very nicely and working for development.
At this point, the message needs to be sent out to the whole country that a positive discussion took place and we are sending across a positive plan.
Thank you.
