Politics hobbled housing for flood-hit: Rajeev
That is how Rajeev Chandrashekar, member, Rajya Sabha, sums up the ‘marginal’ delay in implementation of the housing scheme in the flood-affected areas of North Karnataka.
He is the co-ordinator between the government and corporate bodies for getting financial assistance to implement the scheme, under which free houses are to be given to the poor.
However, the MP was not ready to elaborate on ‘political interference’ which he finds it as the obstacle for speedy implementation of the scheme. He insisted that there should be no politics in rehabilitation issues.
In an interaction with Deccan Herald on Tuesday, Chandrashekar candidly admitted that the corporate houses which volunteered to construct houses underestimated the magnitude of the work, complexity involved in re-building 308 villages in districts like Bijapur or Bagalkot.
If government agencies including the Land Army and KHB were involved in the construction, the results would have been better as they have experience in construction activities, he said.
“If you ask me whether what is being done is perfect, then I will say no. I agree that there has been a delay. Yet, the net records show that the efforts have been unprecedented. This is the first time the corporate sector is opening its wallets for such work and to that extent it is a success. The concept was appreciated by Chidamabaram and Manmohan Singh too.”
Asked how many private firms backed out after pledging assistance, Rajeev remained non-committal. “Here too there are good, medium and bad. Some walked away without doing work. Anyhow, they are not obliged to give money. The fact remains that planned layouts and houses will be ready for occupation in the months to come though there has been a marginal delay.”
To a query whether his presence itself posed a problem as that undermined the importance of the Revenue Minister, the MP said, “My job is thankless and glamourless. I had to make countless calls to business people to do their bit here. None need to feel insecure because of my presence. I will not be chief minister of this state. As co-ordinator I had no power to summon officials and get work done. Anyhow, it was a learning experience”.
What lesson the state has learnt from the Aasare scheme? “The state should have an exclusive centre like Disaster Relief Rehabilitation Centre, which is independent apolitical and professional, to implement relief works.”
Fact sheet
- Total houses originally donors agreed to construct: 69,500
- No. of houses under construction process: 62,676
- So far completed: 844
- Donors who have not commenced work: D Y Uppar, Dalima Cements, Wipro, GMR, PES, Cyan Holdings.
- Donors who have shown progress: SDM, Mata Amrithanandamayi, HOPE, RC Foundation.