Rajasthan waits for Central team to assess monsoon damage

JAIPUR: Winter has set in but the Rajasthan government is still waiting for Centre’s team that was to study the destruction caused due to heavy rains during the monsoon season to crops and infrastructure. The team was last scheduled to visit the state on October 24-26 but was postponed at the last minute. No new date announced so far, even as the state waits for central assistance.
It is a legacy of the British Raj that whenever any loss to its vassals due to natural or other calamities, the Kings representative in Delhi had to come and assess the damage for assistance and reported back to the King to sanction special assistance. The British have left long ago but like many of other ‘traditions’ we are continuing with this practice as if the Centre do not have faith in our own state government’s estimates. “So long as a team from Delhi comes and assesses the loss caused to the state, the Centre does not release assistance to the states,” said an official.
But the time lag in conducting this routine exercise is mind blogging in this time and era. The team was mainly to assess the damage caused to crops and destruction caused to the infrastructure like roads. The irony is that the crops which survived the rains have been harvested now and the state is still waiting for the central team. “A schedule of Oct 24-26 of the central team visit was communicated to the state but was later cancelled and there is no date fixed for the visit,” said an official.