WHAT IS TO BE DONE NEXT IN TAMILNADU AND PUDUCHERRY?

 WHAT IS TO BE DONE NEXT IN TAMILNADU AND PUDUCHERRY?

I asked this question myself.  Then I visualized the road ahead and the plans to traverse it and to reach the destination successfully unfolded before me. I wish to share my ideas with all.

1.     First Phase (Most immediate)

(a)   Rescuing the rest of the people who are still marooned and struggling and providing them temporary shelters at safe places.

(b)   Providing them the most important succor in the form of monetary compensation, medicines, provisions, new garments, stove and utensils and other essential goods.

(c)   Extending medical care and attention to the needy and preventing the outbreak of any epidemics, by opening mobile clinics and conducting medical camps at many places in the state.

(d)   Ensuring the power/electricity at all places is restored at the earliest.

(e)   Repairing all communication networks and making them fully functional as before.

(f)    Draining the stagnant water and removing the dumps of garbage and wastes, with the help of the most modern equipment and trained professionals.

(g)   Extending ‘free travel’ in all modes of government transport in the affected districts/regions, till this month end.

(h)   Scrapping the toll payable at all the toll gates, till further notice.

(i)     Scrapping major taxes and levies for the next 30 days and giving further concession of 50% in them till March, 2016.

(j)     Repairing and strengthening the important highways and bridges on a top priority and ensuring all kinds of transport are restored, with immediate effect.

(k)   Repairing railway tracks, bridges, signaling equipments, communication network and all major stations and restoring railway traffic on all existing routes, in a phased manner.

All these tasks must be completed within the shortest period, say 15 days, by prioritizing each of them, depending on the place affected, nature of loss/damage and the extent of loss, damage and destruction.

2.     Second Phase

(a)   Completing the remaining jobs that could not be completed in Phase 1.

(b)   All illegal construction and mining must be banned forthwith.

(c)   Guiding and extending all possible assistance to the affected people in settlement of their insurance claims.

(d)   Desilting the water bodies and strengthening their embankments and removing all encroachments that block their inlets and outlets.

(e)   Opening all offices, schools, colleges, hospitals and other commercial establishments.

(f)    Providing text books, note books and other important tools to the school/college students.

(g)   Ensuring that the duplicate of all certificates and documents that were lost/damaged in the recent rains/floods is issued ‘free of cost’ to the persons concerned.

(h)   Conducting half-yearly/semester examinations in all educational institutions.

(i)     Removing all bureaucratic hurdles and relaxing many rigid rules for the time being so that the general public do not undergo unnecessary trouble at this hour of distress.

(j)     This phase must be completed within the next 30 days.

3.     Third Phase

(a)   Completing the remaining jobs that could not be completed in Phase 2.

(b)   Farmers and agriculturists must be assisted with the help of technical cells to be constituted in every taluk and this cell shall comprise of professionals drawn from all related fields.

(c)   Removing all huts, residential houses, shopping complexes, godowns, factories, other buildings and structures (industrial/ commercial/educational and hospital), mines and quarries on the encroached land and near the water bodies that once existed and those which are still in existence.

(d)   Providing rewards and incentives to all (regardless of their identity), who were actively involved in the rescue and relief operations for the past 1 month.

(e)   Providing reasonable compensation to farmers, traders and micro/small units, depending on the extent of loss suffered by them and their economic status.

(f)    Writing off the interest in full/in part and rescheduling the loans taken by the affected people from banks/ financial institutions. In case of well to do people, the compound interest on the loans taken by them may be converted into simple interest.

(g)   Assisting the affected people to get fresh loans from banks/ financial institutions.

(h)   Giving permanent job to one person in the families that lost their breadwinner in the rains/floods.  

(i)     For completing this phase, the time limit is 3 months.

4.     Fourth Phase

(a)   Completing the remaining jobs that could not be completed in Phase 3.

(b)   Repairing and restoring the damaged infrastructure fully.

(c)   Completing the road and rail projects under way and expanding them further.

(d)   Collecting all outstanding taxes and levies beyond certain amount, say Rs.10 lakhs, with an iron hand, duly seeking the help of courts and media in this regard.

(e)   Making the governance more transparent and accountable, by introducing e-governance to the maximum possible extent and throwing away all the outdated, complex and corruption ridden processes and systems.

(f)    This phase is to be completed in the next 12 to 18 months.

5.     Fifth and Final Phase

(a)   Completing the remaining jobs that could not be completed in Phase 4.

(b)   Urban town planning strategies shall be recast and a detailed study must be made for this purpose with the help of professional town planners, architects, sociologists and scientists.

(c)   All government departments must be modernized in accordance with the latest trends worldwide.

(d)   Police department must be thoroughly revamped, plugging all the loopholes and removing the black sheep in the police force.

(e)   Preventing further damage to the nature by carefully safeguarding the environment and maintaining the ecological balance.  For this, all natural resources, mountains/hills, rivers, lakes, tanks and ponds and flora and fauna must be protected and patronized.

(f)    This requires the whole hearted co-operation of all citizens, farmers, businessmen, political parties and vigilant media and courts.

(g)   This phase is to be completed in the next 3 years.

Conclusion

1. Government of India must declare this catastrophe as a ‘National Disaster’ immediately.
2. Then, on the lines of Kargil War Fund or Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund, a separate fund is to be created and directly administered by the PMO.
3. All contributions made to this fund must be exempt from all taxes fully.
4. Employees in the organized sector must come forward to donate their one day wages to this fund voluntarily.
5. NRIs must be encouraged to send money to this fund, without any difficulty.
6. To implement all these suggestions and make them effective and successful, unnecessary political interference must be avoided in every social sphere.
7. The corrupt and dishonest public representatives must be punished ruthlessly and kicked out.
8. The government must subject all the funds collected/received for flood relief to Social Audit and CAG Audit, in view of the large amount involved.
9. The government must publish in its official gazette and major newspapers with regard to the amount mobilized from each source on a daily basis, at least for the next 30 days.
10. Complete details of funds received and amount spent under various heads must be uploaded in the government’s official website and the data must be constantly updated.
11. These details must be brought within the purview of ‘Right to Information Act’.
12. If necessary, the courts must be permitted to intervene and scrutinize the accounts.

Date: 08-12-2015                                                                                                                         pannvalan