By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Reeling under the worst of floods in recent times, Bihar state sought a central assistance of Rs 8,922 crore in addition to the Rs 1000 crore received earlier and a Special Kosi Package for the rehabilitation of victims rendered homeless following breach in the Kosi embankment.
The demand for the additional assistance was made by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his meeting with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday.(One Crore: ten million)
“As the flood tragedy is unprecedented in Bihar, I have requested the Prime Minister to give the state a special package and grant Rs 8922 crore for rehabilitation and reconstruction. The money will also be used to repair the breach in the Kosi embankment,” Kumar told reporters later.
The Chief Minister said he sought to know from Singh whether the present work of closure of the existing breaches would be assigned to the state government or the Centre would do the job.
In a letter handed to the Prime Minister during the meeting, Kumar also urged him to take up with his Nepalese counterpart Prachanda the problem of perennial floods in Bihar arising out of floods originating from the Himalayan nation during the latter’s visit to India next week.
Kumar announced the creation of an independent Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the state to pool in all resources from the private sector and the government agencies to meet the challenges of rehabilitation and reconstruction.