HIGH-LEVEL MEETING TAKES STOCK AND ISSUES FRESH DIRECTIONS ON RELIEF AND REHABILITATION EFFORTS
ALTERNATE ACCOMMODATION TO BE ARRANGED FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS WHICH HAVE COLLAPSED
GANGTOK, 30 Sept: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling convened a high-level meeting with Minister, MLAs, MPs, Advisors, Chief Secretary and Heads of Departments yesterday to take stock of the relief and rehabilitations efforts, issue fresh directives and reiterate that all policy decision taken to help the State and its people overcome the devastation caused by the 18 September earthquake were implemented in the right earnest.
An IPR press release informs that Chief Minister directed that all Government schools which have sustained damage be repaired before the Dasain holidays ended so that students could return to their studies on 10 October.
With the Dasain holidays on the anvil, it was decided that the CMO, Chief Secretary’s office and all concerned offices will reopen to ensure that the relief and rehabilitation efforts continue unaffected by the near weeklong holiday.
In the case of school buildings which have collapsed, temporary accommodation should be arranged immediately, he directed. All repairs, he directed, should be initiated under the guidance and supervision of the respective area MLAs.
Sharing that he needs to be updated with frank ground realities, the CM asked the MLAs to tour their constituencies extensively and submit not just details of what the areas have suffered, but also suggest effective remedial measures for the problems faced by the people due to the recent earthquake.
The release details that he stressed the fact that being the elected representatives, all legislators were answerable and accountable to the people, as well as provide leadership to them.
The meeting also resolved that the State Government would take up construction of houses in case of totally collapsed houses wherever necessary. Such houses, it was decided, will be constructed on the same land where the collapsed house stood and in case the land was beyond use, plots be made available through land bank scheme.
In the second instalment of relief grants to the districts, Rs. One crore is to be released to the DCs for onwards disbursement to the BDOs. The panchayats of Chungthang and the two Pipons [Lachen and Lachung] are to receive a second instalment of Rs. 10 lakh each which the panchayats of Dzongu will receive Rs. 5 lakh each, it was decided.
Meanwhile, the relief grants for urban local bodies will have the GMC Municipal Commission receive Rs. 10 lakh, Municipal Executive Officer of Namchi- Rs. 5 lakh, and President, Sikkim Nagar Panchayat- Rs. 5 lakh.
These grants are for immediate relief, the release states.
A special team of officers have been deputed with specific charge of relief and rehabilitation efforts in the affected parts of North district, the worst affected regions of the State. These officers, the release informs, are residents of the places they have been handed exclusive charge of.
They are: TN Kazi, Director HRDD, who had been immediately posted to North Sikkim [where he served a long tenure as DC till recently] on special duty. He is now in-charge for Chungthang. SE, Irrigation, Gozin Lachenpa has been deputed to Lachen, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, Lobsang Dorjee Lachungpa, to Lachung and Deputy Director, HRDD, Sonam Lepcha, to Dzongu.
The meeting also decided that BDOs, SDMs and DCs will verify the victims/ affected people and assess the damages and release grants through cheques.
The CM also directed the Chief Secretary to co-ordinate efforts with the BRO and Army to ensure quick and coordinated repair of roads.
Medical attention for all victims should be immediate and of high quality, he added.
For reconstruction and repair of infrastructure, the respective departments should prepare DPRs for submission to the Government of India. These DPRs, he stressed, should be tenable and aim at construction of earthquake-resistant structures.
The meeting also decided that all essential commodities for disbursement to North Sikkim be taken by road to Mangan from where they will be airlifted for disbursement to affected places.
The CM also directed that the possibility of land for relocation of the Secretariat be explored.
The grants for damages to pucca and kutcha houses were revised at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at Mintokgang on Thursday:
PUCCA HOUSES
a) Totally collapsed- Rs. 50,000
b) Severely damaged- Rs. 25,000
c) Majorly damaged- Rs. 15,000
d) Partially damaged- Rs. 5,000
KUTCHA HOUSES
a) Totally collapsed- Rs. 30,000
b) Severely damaged- Rs.15,000
c) Majorly damaged- Rs. 6,000
d) Partially damaged- Rs. 3,000
ALTERNATE ACCOMMODATION TO BE ARRANGED FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS WHICH HAVE COLLAPSED
GANGTOK, 30 Sept: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling convened a high-level meeting with Minister, MLAs, MPs, Advisors, Chief Secretary and Heads of Departments yesterday to take stock of the relief and rehabilitations efforts, issue fresh directives and reiterate that all policy decision taken to help the State and its people overcome the devastation caused by the 18 September earthquake were implemented in the right earnest.
An IPR press release informs that Chief Minister directed that all Government schools which have sustained damage be repaired before the Dasain holidays ended so that students could return to their studies on 10 October.
With the Dasain holidays on the anvil, it was decided that the CMO, Chief Secretary’s office and all concerned offices will reopen to ensure that the relief and rehabilitation efforts continue unaffected by the near weeklong holiday.
In the case of school buildings which have collapsed, temporary accommodation should be arranged immediately, he directed. All repairs, he directed, should be initiated under the guidance and supervision of the respective area MLAs.
Sharing that he needs to be updated with frank ground realities, the CM asked the MLAs to tour their constituencies extensively and submit not just details of what the areas have suffered, but also suggest effective remedial measures for the problems faced by the people due to the recent earthquake.
The release details that he stressed the fact that being the elected representatives, all legislators were answerable and accountable to the people, as well as provide leadership to them.
The meeting also resolved that the State Government would take up construction of houses in case of totally collapsed houses wherever necessary. Such houses, it was decided, will be constructed on the same land where the collapsed house stood and in case the land was beyond use, plots be made available through land bank scheme.
In the second instalment of relief grants to the districts, Rs. One crore is to be released to the DCs for onwards disbursement to the BDOs. The panchayats of Chungthang and the two Pipons [Lachen and Lachung] are to receive a second instalment of Rs. 10 lakh each which the panchayats of Dzongu will receive Rs. 5 lakh each, it was decided.
Meanwhile, the relief grants for urban local bodies will have the GMC Municipal Commission receive Rs. 10 lakh, Municipal Executive Officer of Namchi- Rs. 5 lakh, and President, Sikkim Nagar Panchayat- Rs. 5 lakh.
These grants are for immediate relief, the release states.
A special team of officers have been deputed with specific charge of relief and rehabilitation efforts in the affected parts of North district, the worst affected regions of the State. These officers, the release informs, are residents of the places they have been handed exclusive charge of.
They are: TN Kazi, Director HRDD, who had been immediately posted to North Sikkim [where he served a long tenure as DC till recently] on special duty. He is now in-charge for Chungthang. SE, Irrigation, Gozin Lachenpa has been deputed to Lachen, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, Lobsang Dorjee Lachungpa, to Lachung and Deputy Director, HRDD, Sonam Lepcha, to Dzongu.
The meeting also decided that BDOs, SDMs and DCs will verify the victims/ affected people and assess the damages and release grants through cheques.
The CM also directed the Chief Secretary to co-ordinate efforts with the BRO and Army to ensure quick and coordinated repair of roads.
Medical attention for all victims should be immediate and of high quality, he added.
For reconstruction and repair of infrastructure, the respective departments should prepare DPRs for submission to the Government of India. These DPRs, he stressed, should be tenable and aim at construction of earthquake-resistant structures.
The meeting also decided that all essential commodities for disbursement to North Sikkim be taken by road to Mangan from where they will be airlifted for disbursement to affected places.
The CM also directed that the possibility of land for relocation of the Secretariat be explored.
The grants for damages to pucca and kutcha houses were revised at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at Mintokgang on Thursday:
PUCCA HOUSES
a) Totally collapsed- Rs. 50,000
b) Severely damaged- Rs. 25,000
c) Majorly damaged- Rs. 15,000
d) Partially damaged- Rs. 5,000
KUTCHA HOUSES
a) Totally collapsed- Rs. 30,000
b) Severely damaged- Rs.15,000
c) Majorly damaged- Rs. 6,000
d) Partially damaged- Rs. 3,000
Will they be earthquake resistant buildings or the same old concrete structures, hastily built, without due regard for safety standards? It's not responsible to just quickly build the same building in the same spot. Some of the schools may be better moved? Where are the geologists, and the seismologists in this decision-making. There is an opportunity to do it properly when repairing and rebuilding.
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