Delegation apprised of Rs 434-crore infrastructure losses in Chamba

The inter-ministerial central team also visited Chamba district today to assess extensive damage caused by heavy rainfall in recent weeks. The team comprising Kamaldeep V. Patel, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Expenditure; and Deep Shekhar Singhal, Under Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, inspected disaster-hit areas in different subdivisions of the district and held a detailed meeting with administrative and departmental officials later in the day.

Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal apprised the team of Rs 434.32 crore losses that the district had suffered due to torrential rain. Of this, the Public Works Department alone had suffered Rs 244.61 crore losses while the Jal Shakti Department reported damage to its projects to the tune of Rs 125.86 crore. The Agriculture and Horticulture departments sustained Rs 20.86 crore losses, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) Rs 6.54 crore and the National Highways division Rs 12.64 crore.

Repaswal said that the Higher Education Department had suffered Rs 2.56 crore losses, Elementary Education Department Rs 55.95 lakh and the Fisheries Department Rs 34.21 lakh. Besides, around 8,608 houses and other infrastructure had been damaged, resulting in an estimated Rs 189.30 crore loss. The Forest Department suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1.41 crore, Health Department Rs 87 lakh while the Chamba Municipal Council and the Dalhousie Municipal Council reported losses of Rs 4.5 crore and Rs 3.4 crore, respectively.

Senior officials of different departments also presented reports on damage caused to various schemes and projects. The central team assured the district authorities that a detailed assessment report would be submitted to the Union Government for timely relief measures. It said that proposals related to increasing man-days under MGNREGA should be sent to the Central Government at the earliest for swift approval. The team stressed the need for strengthening disaster prevention and mitigation measures in the district.