By IANS
New Delhi : Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) parliamentarian from Lakhimpur Arun Kumar Sarma Thursday accused the government of ignoring the plight of over 50,000 families displaced by floods in Assam last year.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during zero hour, Sarma said the government was doing precious little to tackle the hardships of the people displaced by floods since last year.
“Even after over a year, these families are constrained to live on the roadsides, embankments and other such temporary arrangements with the hope that the government would chip in with some support. Nothing (in relief) has reached them so far,” said Sarma.
Seeking their immediate rehabilitation, Sarma said the government needed to build not only their houses but also roads, and to provide the flood-affected other basic facilities.
“The road connectivity has not yet been restored. There is no central assistance for them and there is no change in their lot. The government has totally neglected them.”
He demanded that the government should immediately release funds from the centre’s Calamity Relief Fund (CRF).
“Funds from the CRF have not yet been released. These should immediately be released,” said Sarma.
The government provides relief to the victims of notified natural disasters like flood, tsunami and drought through the CRF, a non-plan fund. An amount of over Rs.213.33 billion has been allocated in the CRF for 2005-10.