Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s decision to divert Rs 3.12 crore lying unutilized from the Canacona Floods Relief Fund to the Uttarakhand natural disaster has come as a shock to a family in Agonda, as the family has been waiting for financial assistance assured to them after their ancestral house was destroyed in the October 2 2009 flash floods.
Joaozinho Fernandes of Desaiwado-Agonda has been struggling for financial aid ever since his house was destroyed in the floods.
He had submitted claims for assistance from the then Digambar Kamat government and his house was to be classified in the ‘Fully Damaged’ category, making him eligible for Rs 4.50 lakh as assistance to rebuild his house.
As months passed, several flood-affected victims got their houses rebuilt either with government assistance or with the assistance of some NGOs.
Fernandes initially got Rs 12,000 (Rs 10,000 by cheque and Rs 2,000 as cash) as immediate relief from the South Goa Collector and Rs 25,000 from the Canacona BDO under the RAY scheme.
Fernandes, who has a file filled with reports and documents from various government offices, the Talathi, PWD authorities and the Canacona mamlatdar, claimed that the authorities are trying to wash off their hands by claiming that it is beyond their reach.
“Various officers, including the BDO, representatives of the Canacona Mamlatdar, the talathi, PWD engineers, police authorities, sarpanch, local panchas, then MLA Vijay Poi Khot and ex-MLA late Sanjay Bandekar had visited us, either to inspect our destroyed house or to prepare reports,” said Fernandes.
“The talathi had estimated the damage to my house at Rs 3.89 lakh, while the PWD valuation report confirmed that my house of 111.55 sq. mts had collapsed during the floods.”
The last report was provided on July 6, 2011 by the Canacona Mamlatdar to the deputy collector & SDO, Collector(South), Margao, but the final submission has not been acted upon by authorities at the district level.
Narrating the numerous visits he has made to various offices in Canacona and the Collectorate in Margao, Fernandes was upset on learning that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar wanted to divert Rs 3.12 crore lying in Canacona Floods Relief Fund for the Uttarakhand calamity.
“Over these years, my family and I have taken shelter in relative’s house. People like us have been left in the lurch in our own State affected by a natural disaster, with authorities not doing enough for nearly four years,” Fernandes said.
“My only relief till date is that the electricity department sends me a ‘nil’ (zero) electricity bill with a remark ‘demolished’. Hoping against hope of getting my house rebuilt, we have been constantly keeping the issue alive with the landlord,” added Fernandes. Incidentally, the Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan is the owner of the land.
“Taking advantage of the 2012 assembly elections, officers kept me away advising me to come and meet them only after elections. After the elections, I resumed by trips and officials merely stated that have submitted all reports to District Collector and that, files are closed at their end.”
“I finally approached Deputy Collector Sandhya Kamat in the Collectorate (South) and when she was non-responsive to my requests, I walked away, this time my soul and body badly beaten and defeated,” sighed a visibly disappointed Fernandes.
