Still in rough weather

What took the cake was the unsavoury drama in the ruling Congress over the change of leadership coming at a time when relief operations were in full swing. The week-long farce resulting in the ouster of Giridhar Gamang from the chief ministership completely derailed the work.

Relief work went for a spin because it was unsystematic and unmonitored. The administration was clueless on how to go about things as it was found wanting all through. So, even though Orissa is known to be cyclone-prone and had witnessed several such calamities earlier, the latest tragedy just helped politicians and officials prove their mismanagement credentials while the state confirmed its most backward status.

More than anything else, what points to the inefficiency of the administration was the lack of haste in providing polythene sheets and blankets to the victims. After first-aid had been provided, the administration moved too slowly while arranging shelter for the affected. Over 16.5 lakh houses had either collapsed or were partially damaged in 14 districts.

Purchase of polythene rolls and of blankets was murky. Former chief minister Giridhar Gamang had to hastily pass an order to place the then special relief commissioner D.N. Padhi under suspension. Though the order was not acted upon and withdrawn two days later by Gamang, the supply of polythene and blankets came to a grinding halt with every one in the government turning 8220;polythene shy.8221;

Now, more than half of the affected families are living under the chilly open sky with the government deciding to stop distribution of polythene from December 20. The decision of the government to pay Rs 400 each to the families who have not received polythene sheets seems to be ludicrous. The government8217;s lack of alacrity in supplying blankets is more alarming. Only 1.02 lakh blankets had been distributed 53 days after the cyclone. Also, Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal8217;s announcement that all affected families will be supplied blankets by December 31 may turn out to be a distant dream.

As it is, the polythene issue has assumed political undertones during the short winter session of the Assembly. Coming under pressure from Opposition as well as ruling party MLAs, the state government had to announce a judicial probe into the polythene scam by a sitting judge of the High Court.Officials from Maharashtra, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, who have been deputed by their respective governments to speedup relief work in the districts they have adopted, find the system too cumbersome. States like Gujarat and Punjab who had volunteered help developed cold feet after the lukewarm response of the local administration.

The state government also drew flak for its lack of transparency on the funding it received from the Centre, international funding agencies, voluntary organisations and its expenditure. Though the state government came out with the quantum of funds it received in a supplementary white paper presented in the State Assembly, it did not have any details about the expenditure. So, it was sharply criticised in the Assembly for presenting a sketchy white paper containing the figures of damages and loss to properties.

So far, the state has received Rs 960 crore from the Centre after two successive cyclones hit its coast in October. The National Fund for Calamity Relief NFCR has contributed Rs 500 crore of this. According to the white paper, the contribution from the NGO sector will be about Rs 130 crore. The state government has submitted a memo to the Centre seeking an assistance of Rs 6227 crore for relief and rehabilitation measures in the cyclone-affected areas.

That8217;s asking for a lot when no final figure on the number of deaths has been reached and Opposition parties are alleging the toll of 9,885 is an understatement.

The state government also faced much criticism for delays in doling out ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased. Revenue assessment has been delayed in almost all the blocks and the state government is lagging behind its own targets of disbursing house building assistance to the affected.

With the supercyclone slowly going out of the newspaper pages and public memory, the chilly winter will surely turn out to be torturous for the lakhs of shelterless persons. While the victims wait in vain for succour, the battle for survival has shifted to the political arena. The BJP-Biju Janata Dal combine is reasonably confident that it will gain from the misdemeanours of the Congress in the Assembly elections due in March.

A foretaste of things to come was evident in the short Assembly session as the treasury benches and Opposition traded charges over relief and rehabilitation. While the Congress harped on the Centre8217;s refusal to declare the cyclone a national calamity, the Opposition alleged financial help from the Centre was not properly utilised.