Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 1 :  A seven-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), headed by M. Ramachandrudu, Joint Secretary, Disaster Management, Government of India, on Thursday held detailed discussions with senior Himachal Pradesh government officials to review the damage caused by disasters during the current season and assess the state's requirement for relief and recovery assistance.
The central team, which arrived in Himachal Pradesh on September 28 for a four-day assessment visit, visited several disaster-hit areas across the state, including Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Shimla and Solan, before concluding its field assessment in Shimla.
The meeting with senior state government officials and heads of departments was chaired by Chief Secretary K.K. Pant. The team also met Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who was briefed about the extent of damage and the state's requirements for relief, recovery and reconstruction.
Speaking to ANI in Shimla, M. Ramachandrudu said the team had visited several locations where landslides, sinking of land, damage to houses, crops and other infrastructure had been reported.
"Our IMCT team came from Delhi on the 20th. We have visited Kangra, Chamba, Kullu and different places of the state where the damages have occurred. The State had temporarily given one memorandum. We have gone through it. The final memorandum is not yet prepared, and they will submit it soon," Ramachandrudu said.
He said the team was examining the estimated losses and proposals submitted by the state and would make recommendations to the Central Government after examining the final memorandum.
"Basically, our team examined whatever memorandum was submitted, the proposals on the damages and all. We'll go through the estimated damages, and we'll sit and give the recommendation to the Central Government," he said.
Ramachandrudu said the major damage reported during the assessment was to roads and water supply schemes, besides damage to houses and loss of human lives.
"Apart from that, agriculture losses are there, animal losses are also there, and horticulture losses also reported, fisheries also reported. When we receive the final memorandum, we'll go through the memorandum and, as per the norms prescribed by the Government of India, we'll recommend," he said.
He said the IMCT comprised seven members, including officials representing different sectors such as finance, rural development, roads, Jal Shakti and agriculture, besides a representative from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
"We are actually seven in number, including me. He is from NRSC, and he is from Finance. Another is from Rural Development, another member is from Roads, another member is from Jal Shakti, another member is from Agriculture. We are totally seven in number and we have all visited different places and came to know about the damages," Ramachandrudu said.
Himachal Pradesh Special Secretary, Disaster Management, Pushpendra Rana said the central team had conducted an extensive on-ground assessment and interacted with affected communities and local representatives.
"This Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been continuously visiting different districts of Himachal for the last three days. We have been shown the damage caused by the disaster during this season. We covered Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Shimla and Solan districts," Rana told ANI in Shimla.
He said officials from different departments had accompanied the team to the affected areas, where the losses were assessed on the spot.
"We went to the spot and saw the losses reported by different departments. We also met the people and affected communities. We met local representatives in Kangra, Chamba, Kullu, Mandi and other places and conducted a complete assessment of the damage," Rana said.
He said the discussions in Shimla focused on the state's memorandum, which currently estimates the losses at around Rs 3,400 crore, and ways to strengthen funding support for relief and recovery.
"Today there was an interaction with all our senior secretaries and heads of departments. We discussed the memorandum of Rs 3,400 crore and how we can improve the funding and get help in terms of funding," Rana said.
Rana said the central team also met Chief Minister Sukhu, who apprised the members of the damage caused across the state during the current disaster season.
"The Chief Minister also told them that the norms for Himalayan states are lower compared to plain areas and requested that the special requirements of the Himalayan region should also be taken into consideration," he said.
According to Rana, the Chief Minister also urged the Centre to release the assistance sought by the state at the earliest, citing the short working season in the Himalayan region.
"He said that whatever we are demanding this time, our requirement should be provided immediately because the working season here is short and we need to start disaster mitigation and relief works immediately," Rana said.
Rana said the interaction with the central team was positive and expressed hope that the Government of India would provide funding for relief, recovery and restoration work at the earliest.
"The meeting with the Chief Minister was good. The effort is that the Government of India will immediately release funding for relief and recovery and for the losses suffered," he said.
He added that the state government would update the memorandum as further information on the losses becomes available and submit the revised details to the Centre in the coming days.
"More updates will come. New things that are coming in will also be updated and sent immediately in the coming days," Rana said.
The IMCT will examine the final memorandum submitted by Himachal Pradesh and make recommendations to the Central Government in accordance with the prescribed norms for disaster assistance.