New Delhi, Sept 17: Keeping in view the magnitude of the Bihar floods, a Special Task Force (STF) set up by the Centre has suggested seeking monetary help from international financial agencies and constitution of a consortium of international donors for the flood-hit state.
The STF in its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought a special package of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore for rehabilitation of millions of flood victims and
reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in north Bihar.
The Centre recently sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore to the state for relief purposes. The Bihar government has sought an additional Rs 9,000 crore for the rehabilitation and
reconstruction task.
The task force, headed by Satish C Jha, in its report submitted to the Prime Minister yesterday, favoured aid from World Bank, IMF and Asian Development Bank to meet the huge expenses.
Other recommendations of the STF include immediate action plan for repair of Kosi embankment, formulating a Bihar Rehabilitation and Development Programme (BRDP) and constitution of a high-level Central team involving important
ministries to monitor rehabilitation and reconstruction work.
With rivers originating from Nepal inundating Bihar every year, the STF has suggested involvement of Bihar government in high level Indo-Nepal talks. He regretted that the state government was never involved in Indo-Nepal talks on flood
control measures.
Jha said there is a need to make high dams on the Kosi river in Nepal to check the flow of the water right from the originating point.
Bureau Report
