LOK SABHA ___

SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______

Thursday, July 31, 2014 / Shravana 9, 1936 (Saka)

______

REFERENCE BY SPEAKER

HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, several persons are reportedly dead and several injured seriously while several others are trapped in debris caused by landslide due to massive rains in a village about 80 km north to Pune on 30th July,

2014. I am sure the House joins me to convey our condolences to the bereaved families and wish for speedy recovery of injured.

The Members then stood in silence for a short while.

Re: Relinquishment of Office by Secretary General (Shri P. Sreedharan) and his appointment as Honorary Officer of the House and Appointment of new

Secretary-General, Lok Sabha

HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I have to inform the House that Shri P.

Sreedharan has relinquished the office as Secretary-General of Lok Sabha yesterday. Shri Sreedharan, who was appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha on 1st May, 2014, with his thorough knowledge of Constitutional and

Procedural Matters has helped the presiding officer and the panel of Chairmen in smooth conduct of the proceedings of the House. He relentlessly worked for the welfare of officers and staff of the Secretariat. In recognition of his services, I have great pleasure in announcing that Shri Sreedharan has been appointed as

Honorary Officer of the House. I am confident that Hon'ble Members will join me in wishing him good health and success in the years ahead. Hon. Members, Shri

P.K. Grover, Secretary in the Lok Sabha Secretariat is officiating as Secretary

General, Lok Sabha from today i.e. 31-07-2014.

SUBMISSION BY MEMBERS

Re: Reported lathi-charge on candidates in Delhi for protesting against

removal of Hindi and other regional languages in UPSC

examinations.

MINISTER OF URABAN DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING AND URBAN

POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M.

VENKAIAH NAIDU) responding to the issues raised by several hon'ble Members said: This issue has already been raised in the House by Hon'ble Members. Our efforts should be to find a solution. I also feel sorry for the students who are agitating. They are supposed to enter administrative services. Keeping their future also in mind the government has taken this up seriously. The Prime Minister himself has taken interest in this and a committee has been formed to study this and then take a final decision at the earliest. I can only assure you that I will again convey to the Hon'ble Prime Minister the feelings of the Members of the House. It is not a Hindi or Non-Hindi issue. It is an issue of regional languages also.

Keeping that in mind, a balanced, mutually acceptable solution would be found.

MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) Need to set up a Museum as well as a Mega Tourist Circuit at the

birth place of Gautham Buddha namely Piparahawa(Kapilvastu),

Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL: Lakhs of Buddhists visit Kapilvastu

(Siddharth Nagar), Uttar Pradesh – the birth place of Lord Gautham Buddha every year from within the country and abroad. Coins, utensils, clothes and other articles found out after excavation from the palace of Kapilvastu have been kept in the

National Museum, Kolkata. Those who visit the birth place of the Buddha get disappointed not to find the articles of that era in the local Museum. I would like to demand from the Central Government to construct a Museum at Piparahawa

(Kapilvastu), Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh along with creating a mega tourist circuit over there.

(ii) Need for expediting the proposal for inclusion of 38 languages

including Rajasthani in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: There is a pending proposal with the Central

Government to include 38 other language in the Eighth Schedule to the

Constitution. Rajasthani Language is one of them which is spoken by about 10 crore people in the country and abroad. The proposal to include the Rajasthani language in the Eighth Schedule was forwarded to the Parliament with concurrence of the State Assembly after the resolution in this regard was passed by Rajasthan

Assembly in 2003. Thereafter, during the discussion in the House the then Home

Minister had, on 17th December 2006 given an assurance to introduce a Bill in this regard for giving recognition to the Rajasthani language. Therefore, I would like to request to the Government to ensure that alongwith the Rajasthani Language, all other proposed languages are included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution by way of a Constitution Amendment.

(iii) Need to provide adequate assistance to revive HMT institute at

Pinjore in Panchkula District of Haryana.

SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA: Employees of HMT, Pinjore have not got salaries for years, as result they are facing problems in supporting their families. There is shortage of fund to take care of the tools and machines of this institute resulting into its poor condition. I would like to the Government to take all possible measures to revive this organization.

(iv) Need to modernize the Dhanbad Railway Station in Jharkhand.

SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH: There is a need for beautification and renovation of Dhanbad Railway Station under my Constituency. Dhanbad is the

Coal capital of our country. I would like to request to the Government to immediately issue necessary guidelines for renovation of Dhanbad Railway Station and also to bring it in a proper shape so that travelers visiting Dhanbad may get proper facilities over there.

(v) Need to grant 'No Objection Certificate' to the WCL, Pathakhera and

Gandhigram mines in Madhya Pradesh in order to start their

operations.

SHRIMATI JYOTI DHURVE: In order to create jobs, mines at Tava III

WCL, Pathakhera and Gandhigram may be made operational and for this purpose a

'No Objection Certificates' may be issued as soon as possible.

(vi) Need for construction of rope-way at the Rohtasgarh Fort and Maa

Mundeshwari Dham in Sasaram Parliamentary Constituency.

SHRI CHHEDI PASWAN: The Rohtasgarh fort under my Constituency

Sasaram is a very famous tourist place and it is a monument of historical, cultural as well as heritage value. Mundeshwari Dham is a 6000 years old pilgrim centre.

My request to the Government is that a rope way should be constructed there to facilitate the tourists and pilgrims to reach upto Rohtasgarh Fort and Maa

Mundeshwari Dham.

(vii) Need to start Air India service from Bhopal to Hyderabad, Raipur,

Bangalore and Kolkata.

SHRI ALOK SANJAR: Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh is also an important industrial city. The city is very well connected with road and railways.

However, the air connectivity between Bhopal and other important cities is not satisfactory. I request to the Government to re-start Air India Services between

Bhopal-Hyderabad and Bhopal-Raipur and to start Air India service between

Bhopal-Bangalore and Bhopal-Kolkata.

(viii) Need to formulate special notified zones at Bharat Diamond Bourse,

Mumbai and Gems and Jewellery Park in Surat, Gujarat to streamline

the import and trading process of rough diamond in the country.

SHRIMATI DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH: Surat is the largest diamond manufacturing centre of the world but rough diamond mining companies of the world sell their goods through auctions and tenders held in cities such as

Antwerp, Moscow, Johannesburg, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, New York and such others. The apparent reason for not holding Rough diamond sales in India, are the existing laws, regulations and procedures for Rough diamond import and returning of unsold goods. In India, the buyer has to make full payment for import, and thereafter while returning unwanted goods, the buyer would again have to go through all export formalities including monetary transactions. 'Special Notified

Zones' should be formed at Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai and Gems

& Jewellery Park in Surat from where rough diamond suppliers can smoothly import Rough Diamonds for trading, and can take back unsold goods in a hassle free manner.

(ix) Need for discontinuation of charging of octroi by the Jalandhar and

Firozpur Cantonment Council in Punjab with immediate effect. SHRI VIJAY SAMPLA: The Cantonment Boards at Jalandhar and

Firozpur of Punjab are charging toll from the public. The Government of Punjab has, however clearly requested the two Cantonment Boards not to charge any toll and it is said that the losses of revenue would be compensated under the provisions of Punjab Municipality Fund (Amendment) at 2008. I would request to the

Government to that toll collections by Jalandhar and Firozpur Cantonment Boards should be stopped immediately.

(x) Need for construction of a R.C.C. bridge over the Ghats of Garahiya,

Ebrahimpur of Madhuban block in East Champaran district of Bihar.

SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI: It would be a great help to about 40,000 population of Garahiya, Ebrahimpur of Madhuban block under my Constituency of East Champaran if a big R.C.C. bridge is constructed over there. The said bridge would directly connect the places like Garahiya, Ebrahimpur, Mehsi block to

Sahabganj district of Muzaffarpur, Sheohar district, Sawaipatti, Tetaria and Nepal.

I would therefore like to request the government to kindly get a R.C.C. bridge constructed at Garahiya, Ebrahimpur Ghat of Madhuban block.

(xi) Need to ensure construction of feeder canal facilitating full water

storage in Tandula Water Reservoir (Balod district) from Gangrel

Water Reservoir (Dhamtari District) in Chhattisgarh.

SHRI TAMRADHWAJ SAHU: During the raining season the Gangrel

Reservoir under Dhamtari District of Chhattisgarh is fully filled with water and thereafter enough water goes waste whereas the Tandula Reservoir in adjoining

Balod District generally remains unfilled due to shortage of water. I would like to request that a scheme should be formulated to construct a feeder canal connecting

Rangrel Reservoir to Tandula Reservoir.

(xii) Need to grant adequate fund for providing rail facilities in Tenkasi

Parliamentary Constituency.

SHRIMATI M. VASANTHI: I wish to draw the attention of the

Government towards the major demands of my Parliamentary Constituency

Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu which includes introduction of new train services, construction of over-bridges, meter gauge conversion to broad gauge conversion, construction of a new platform at Kadayanallur and augmentation of facilities at

Rajapalayam Railway Station and urge upon the Government to take suitable steps in this regard.

(xiii) Need to convert two lane bypasses to four lane bypasses and increase

the number of toll gates at toll plazas on Chennai to Salem National

Highway Nos. 45 and 68.

DR. K. KAMARAJ: There is traffic congestion at toll plazas on National

Highway 45 Paranur, Athur, Vikiravandi and Sengurichi due to failure of the contractor to open all toll gates. I request to the Government to instruct the contractors to open all the gates, increase the number of gates at toll plazas and convert all two lane bypasses to four lane bypasses to decrease the number of accidents.

(xiv) Need to upgrade the Bishnupriya Halt in West Bengal into a full-

fledged Railway Station.

DR. RATNA DE NAG: Biahnupriya Halt in West Bengal should be upgraded into a full-fledged Railway Station. It is one of the busiest Halts with a huge number of passengers between 65,000 and 80,000. This Halt generates revenue worth more than 10 lakh to the Railways. I would request the Government to take immediate action in this regard.

(xv) Need to sanction adequate funds for completion of Metro Projects in

Kolkata, West Bengal. PROF. SAUGATA ROY: In 2009 five metro Railways to Kolkata namely,

Dum Dum-Barasat, Dum Dum-Dakhineswar, Dum Dum-Barrackpore, Aiport-New

Garia and Joka Vividi Bagh were sanctioned. In this financial year only Rs. 540 crores have been sanctioned for the Metro Projects in Kolkata which is inadequate to complete all these projects. I urge the Government to sanction more funds for

Metro projects in Kolkata.

(xvi) Need to fix the Minimum Support Price in respect of different varieties

of Bengal Gram and also to provide marketing facilities for the same.

SHRI Y.V. SUBBA REDDY: Prakasasm district in Andhra Pradesh has been identified as one of the pulse growing districts under the National Food

Security Mission Programme. Tobacco farmers are cultivating Bengal Gram as an alternate crop. I urge upon the Government to take immediate steps to increase duties on the import of Bengal Gram and incentives should be given to export the

Bengal Gram.

(xvii) Need to set up Amla (Phyllamathus Emblica) related Food Processing

Industries in Pratapgarh (Uttar Pradesh) and to fix Minimum Support

Price thereof. KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH: There is enough production of Amla in

Pratapgarh but since farmers do not get remunerative price, they are avoiding to take up Amla farming. Amla produce is also wasted every year. I would request to the Government to set up Amla based Food Processing Industries and a support price for Amla should also be fixed so that the wastage of Amla may be stopped and farmers may get proper price for their production.

DISCUSSION UNDER RULE 193

Re: Flood and drought situation in the country – Contd.

SHRI RAVNEET SINGH: More than 50 per cent population of the country is associated with farming. 14 per cent of total income is generated through farming. Due to inadequate rain in the present year a drought like situation prevails. Failure of rain has directly affected sowing and subsequently prices of all items including pulses have increased. The agriculture growth rate may fall by 1 per cent. There has been much problem in planting of paddy and sowing of pulses due to delayed monsoon in the country and subsequently farmers have suffered a huge loss. The situation in Punjab is much more grim. Less than average rainfall has been recorded in eight district there. There is a drought like situation in Punjab.

There are 65 per cent small and marginal farmers in the State. They have taken huge loan to protect their paddy crop. Government of Punjab had assured to provide eight hours electricity to farmers, but they are not getting even four hours supply of electricity. Farmers have taken loans of lakhs of rupees for running generator. Power is being purchased from other states because thermal plants in

Roper and Bhatinda are lying closed. The Government of Punjab has demanded a package of Rs. 2330 crore from Central Government. The Central Government, however denies any such demand being made. The Government is not serious about finding out if such losses have been suffered by farmers. Malwa Zone is converting into desert. 85,000 tubewells have gone out of order in the state for which Rs. 700 crore has been demanded from the Central Government. Water level has depleted to the level of 400 feet. Water is not potable. Minimum support price of maize, millet and pulses should also be announced on the pattern of support price of wheat and paddy. The University of Punjab should be provided funds to conduct research work. Private agencies willing to work in this field should be allowed and promoted. Farmers should be provided with improved seeds. Crop Insurance Facility should be provided upto the lower level. Fruits and vegetables worth crores of rupees are wasted every year. Funds have not been allocated for warehousing and storage. Farmers are in troubled phase. The

Government should give compensation to the farmers of Punjab and Haryana at least at the rate of Rs. 500 per quintal. The Government is concerned about traders and businessmen and not about farmers. SHRI M. CHANDRAKASI: People of our country are affected by natural disasters like heavy rains, tsunami, cyclones, floods, earthquakes and drought like situation. There is a loss to the precious lives and property. The National Disaster

Management Authority should be strengthened with allocation of adequate funds and whenever natural disasters take place, immediate relief and rehabilitation measures should be undertaken on war-footing basis. Excess river water drains into sea. This can only be prevented by interlinking of rivers. Through this, we can manage floods and also help the drought affected states of the country.

Desalination plant is functional in Tamil Nadu. Adequate funds should be allotted for implementing this scheme throughout the country. Tamil Nadu is the most affected State due to floods, cyclones, heavy rains and sometimes drought. Union

Government should allocate adequate funds to Tamil Nadu for developing infrastructure and to tackle natural disasters. International Tsunami Warning

Centre was set up in the year 1963. India should also become a member of organization so as to protect the people from Tsunami like natural disasters. Sea erosion should be controlled. Chidambaram, Buvanagiri and Ariyalur are the coastal districts in my constituency. Fishermen and people are frequently affected by giant sea waves. Brick walls should be constructed along the coastal areas to protect the people of my constituency.

 Original in Tamil DR. TAPAS MANDAL: This year we are having the problem of drought.

We received lesser amount of rainfall this year-56 per cent in Central India, and a

20 per cent deficit in rainfall in West Bengal. The cultivation of jute is under there. During the months of April-May, the situation worsened. Therefore, I would request the Minister to take necessary steps so that the farmers can at least get some benefit. Recently, there was an MoU between the Central Groundwater

Board and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing to survey the situation of lands.

It is restricted to northern India. I would request the Minister that the MoU between these two organizations should be extended to cover the entire country so that the benefits could be extended to the farming community of the country as a whole. In crop management, what is urgently required is the introduction of crop diversification. We are traditionally growing rice, wheat, etc., but it is time to adopt different types of crops so that the loss being suffered by the farmers could be minimized. There are some of the crops that can be grown with less amount of water. Water scarcity is major problem. For this, better management of water practice is required. We need to grow those crops which require less amount of water. We need those crops which have deep roots so that they can tap water from the deeper region of the soil. The research must be directed to those areas where less water consuming crops can be grown satisfactory to cater the needs to the farming of this country. Credit facilities should be extended to the farming communities. The Central Research Institute for Dry Land Agriculture only situated at Hyderabad has no other branches in other parts of this country. I urge upon the Minister to look into the matter to set up different branches in different parts of this country. There are some districts like Purulia and Bankura where dryland is there, water scarcity is there. The Government can set up a centre of

CRIDA so that the farmers of that area can utilize the expertise generated from these centres. In Damodar Valley Corporation is dreding pending for the last 66 years. I urge upon the Minister to look into the matter so that at least the dredging of DVC should be taken place.

SHRI NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN: Drought is about 16 per cent of India’s total area is drought prone and approximately, 50 million people are annually affected by droughts. About 15.2 per cent of total geographical area, is flood prone and on an average 10 to 112 million hectare is actually affected every year causing a range of miseries. Occurrence of flood in one part and drought in another part of the country is quite common. Amongst all the natural disasters afflicting the State of Odisha, floods are the most frequent and devastating. About

80 per cent of the annual rainfall in the State is concentrated over a short monsoon period of three months. In rivers the problem is further accentuated when flood synchronises with high tide in coastal area. The silt deposited constantly by these rivers in the delta area arises the bed levels and the rivers often overflow their banks or break through new channels causing heavy damages. The impact of the drought is mainly felt in agriculture, resulting in loss of production. Besides crop loss, droughts also create problems of irrigation, drinking water, loss of employment, scarcity of essential commodities, migration of farm labourers, increasing rural indebtedness. People who get worst affected are small and marginal farmers, and agricultural labourers. Odisha was hit by the worst of cyclones Phailin which made landfall in southern part of the State on October 12,

2013. Cyclone Phailin coupled with another spell of high floods occurred simultanesouly affecting severely the lives and properties of people of that region.

I would request the hon. Minister to ensure that adequate fund are released to the

Government of Odisha so that we can have our due.

SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV: There is severe drought in

Marathwara region in Maharashtra. This area was severely drought-hit two years ago also. Farmers are facing problems. Seeds were sown again but they did not sprout. I request the Government to bail out the farmers of this situation. They should be awarded best possible package so that they get some relief. During flood villages are almost swept but during the drought farmers and animals do not get even drinking water. Sanction was accorded to provide storage facility there. But, the Government there did not recognize it and so the storage facility could not be provided. I request the government to provide storage facility there so that the farmers and animals get drinking water also. I also propose to the Government to provide the best remunerative prices for paddy to the farmers.

SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: India is vulnerable to a variety of natural and man-made disasters. Poverty, vulnerability and disasters are linked. Often it is the poorest that are worst affected and suffer the most. Panchayati Raj institutions can display tremendous potential in disaster management as they are closer to the scene and have a better knowledge of local resources and weakness. I would request the Government to totally involve Panchayati Raj institutions in disaster management. Floods kill thousands and displace millions. Almost all of

India is flood-prone and extreme precipitation events such as flash floods and torrential rains have become increasingly common in central India over the past several decades. Early warning system can save lives. Severe monsoon rain causes floods when forecasted timely early warnings may be delivered and people can be evacuated in such situations so that loss of life and property can be reduced to the best extent possible. In June 2013 a multi day cloud burst in Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the country’s worst natural disaster.

More than 5700 people were presumed to be dead and among them, 934 were local residents. Destruction of bridges and roads left about 1,00,000 pilgrims and tourists trapped in the valleys of Char Dham pilgrimage. The Government was charged with being too slow in rescuing and relocating the people. My suggestions in order to prevent these types of tragedies are more trees on the hills to maintain the ecological balance of the region and save the hills from pollution and rivers from contamination. Less number of vehicles should be allowed thoroughfare on the hill areas to avoid pollution and to maintain ecological balance. A limited number of projects should be sanctioned for infrastructures like roads, buildings and other constructions. There should be accurate weather forecastes. The disaster management groups should be established. The plastic usage by the tourists should be regulated. Now I would like to speak about the man-mad disaster which occurred in my State, Andhra Pradesh. A gas pipeline of GAIL leaked at Nagaram village of East Godavari District which is because of this pipeline leak, Nagaram village caught fire, killing 22 people and leaving 20 people severely burnt on

Friday. The gas leak seemed to have been taking place for the last four days prior to the blast. Since the gas was odourless, its leakage was undetected. The

Government should take steps to avoid such disaster.

SHRIMATI KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA: Natural flood/drought is one aspect and the other face of the same coin would be man-inflicted flood. In 2009, we had a man-inflicted flood in Kurnool which had swept away many villages and we had a very serious situation. This was caused because one river basin water was diverted to other. The Polavaram project has been given a national status while preparing the DPR, the flood level of Godavari was calculated only at 30 lakh cusecs but now after fresh records and the latest data the flood level is at 50 lakh cusecs; but that is not noted and permissions have been given. Tomorrow if, because of global warming and of various other situations arising, something goes wrong, Godavari will be flooded and if the flood level goes up to 50 lakh cusecs, the it will be a very serious incident and in that event even a big city like

Rajamundry could be wiped off the face of this earth. This is a very serious issue and I believe that the hon. Minister will pay attention to it and also have a re-look into the permissions of the Polavaram project. The States of Andhra Pradesh,

Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh are the four States which would be directly affected by this project, but none of the Chief Ministers of these four States was called and consulted. The other issue that I wanted to bring to the notice of the hon. Minster of Water Resources is about the redistribution of the water of the river Krishna among the four States. The time of the Tribunal has been increased by another two years. I will hope that the Central Government would use the latest technology available. It could be the GIS or the SONAR technology because the upper riparian states are storing water in small projects which do not have permission and they are changing the natural course of the river. But if a proper study is not done lower riparian States are going to suffer. So, I hope that the

Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Water Resources will pay serious attention to the Krishna Water Distribution. SHRI M.B. RAJESH: As predicted, this year’s monsoon has been weak and there has been a decline in the accumulative rainfall for the country as a whole as compared to the last year. The decline is 43 per cent. It is an alarming situation.

Out of 617 districts, 434 districts have received deficient rainfall. The Central

Water Commission’s data shows that 85 reservoirs in our country is having 66 per cent less storage as compared to last year. This will have serious implications for agriculture. There is almost a 50 per cent decline of area shown under Kharif crop cultivation. There is a danger of sharp fall in agricultural production; there is a danger to our food security and there is also a danger of further worsening of the inflation rate in our country. The Government should enhance agricultural extension services and make seeds, fertilizers, and other things available at affordable prices. They should ensure cheap agricultural credit and institutional credit to farmers. The National Farmers commission headed by the famous agricultural scientist, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan had recommended that agricultural loan should be made available to farmers at not more than four per cent rate of interest. The Government has not yet accepted that recommendation. Instead, the

Government is moving in a wrong direction. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has recently issued a guideline forbidding the States to give bonus over and above the Minimum Support Price. The Government should withdraw that guideline and not to prevent the states from giving bonus over and above the MSP. Kerala is having a peculiar geographical pattern and landscape and because of this, we experience sudden floods immediately followed by severe drought situation.

Kerala is one of the few States which receives both South-West monsoon and

North-East monsoon. This aspect also should be taken into account. Kerala is a

State which is having the longest coastline in our country. The groundwater level there is increasingly depleting and we experience frequent landslides especially during monsoon. I would like to request the hon. Minister to have a relook into the guidelines and criteria for the central assistance given as compensation caused by the damages due to natural calamities. Since Kerala is very sensitive to natural calamities and we are lacking trained personnel and mechanism to address natural calamities, I would again like to request to take steps to set up a unit of National

Disaster Management in Kerala.

SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY: Two-thirds of our people are dependent on agriculture but only ten per cent of the people who are suffering due to flood and drought are getting some sort of relief from the Government. This is one of the reasons as to why the farmers are getting into the debt trap. The ground water level, which was 300 or 500 feet below in my constituency, Rajampet has currently reached the level of 1,200 feet. Such is the intensity of the drought situation there.

We are talking of price rise of potatoes and tomatoes, but today in my constituency we are talking of price rise of water. Each pot of water costs Rs.5 in my constituency. In the major municipalities like Punganur and Madanapalli, we are getting water only once in fifteen days. This is really pathetic. All the governments are talking of creation of employment. Lakhs of people from my constituency are going to nearby cities as labourers. Even people owning five to ten acres of land are going to other areas as labourers. This is a pathetic condition to which our people of Rayalseema are subjected to. I would request the

Government of India to appoint a high powered committee to study the effectiveness of various relief and rehabilitation programmes in the country so that each and every one who is affected can be helped. I would also request the

Finance Commission to consider transfer of higher resources to States that are regularly affected by the cyclone, flood and drought.

*SHRI SHER SINGH GHUBAYA:

SHRI NANDKUMAR SINGH CHOUHAN: There are 25 drought affected districts in Madhya Pradesh and this has led to hardships to farmers.

There are many districts in Madhya Pradesh like Datiya, Dhar, Sagar, Vidisha,

Rewa, Singrauli, Anuppur,Guna, Sidhi, Shahjahanpur, Agar, Malwa, Dewas,

Ashok Nagar, Neemuch, Satna, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Sheopur, Ratlam, Mansaur,

Dindhori, Gwalior, Shahdol and Umariya which have received scanty rainfall. The crops of farmers of these districts have been damaged due to deficiency in the

* Please see Supplement rainfall. At the same time there are some districts in Madhya Pradesh like Betul,

Burhanpur, Harda and Khandwa which have received excessive rainfall. All the rivers of these districts including the Tapti River are in spate. Banana is grown on a very large scale in Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Torrential rains have damaged banana crops to the tune of millions of rupees. The national Crop

Insurance was introduced in the country to offset the loss suffered by the farmers due to natural calamities. However, our farmers are not getting the benefit of this scheme. The banana growers have not received the insurance of even a single rupee even after the payment of premium. I, therefore, request the hon. Minister to make the crop Insurance Scheme more practical. The banana growers of my area need the central assistance to sustain them. Though the Madhya Pradesh is providing assistance to them, the assistance of Central Government is also equally important. About 1000 cattle have died due to pneumonia because of torrential rains. The farmers whose cattle have died either due to floods or torrential rains need to be provided financial assistance.

*SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL

*DR. KULMANI SAMAL

*SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY

*SHRI P. NAGARAJAN

* Please see Supplement SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV: About 70 per cent of people in our country are still dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. It is the farmer of our country who bears the brunt be it due to flood or drought. The farmers affected by drought or floods need immediate relief. However, the successive governments of our country have failed to find lasting solution to deal with floods and drought in all these 67 years. Schemes are formulated but their meaningful implementation rarely takes place. The Constitution of the National Disaster

Management Authority is yet to take place. It is this authority which is entrusted with the responsibility of effecting coordination between the central and the State governments. There are only two districts in Uttar Pradesh namely, Shravasti and

Basti that have recorded more than normal rain and the remaining districts are reeling under drought like situation. I would like to request the hon. Minister to provide loans to the farmers whose paddy crops have perished due to drought. The

Central government should also accede to the demand of the Uttar Pradesh government for providing relief to the flood victims of 2013. The central government has decided to make tape water available to the 90 per cent of the rural population by 2022 under the National Rural Drinking Water Scheme but the kind of budget the states government are provided, I don’t think that they would achieve this target by the year 2022. The length of river bank in my parliamentary constituency Badaun is about 120 km. Though the river Ganga causes floods in the district, not even a single inch of land is irrigated by its water. The Uttar

Pradesh government has prepared a proposal named the Badaun Lift Canal Project in view of the above problems. The said proposal has been sent to the Central

Water Commission for its approval. I would like to request the hon. Minister of

Water Resources to accord the approval to this proposal at the earliest to enable us to make drinking water available to the people of Badaun as also to prevent the loss caused by flood there.

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: With regard to all the calamities including flood, I would like to urge upon the hon. Minister that such industries which directly cause damage to the environment should not be promoted. I also want to request him to ensure that ongoing space research does not affect availability of water on the earth in any way. The details regarding the repercussions of tempering with the nature should be included in the educational curriculum in the country so that coming generations are aware made aware of these. Whenever nature is tempered with, the calamities like the ones occurred in Uttarakhand and

Pune take place. The three areas of North Bihar are affected by floods. If the

Government makes an arrangement to chennelize this flood water of North Water to Southern Bihar, it will provide required water for irrigation to Southern Bihar.

Our country has the largest amount of fresh water in the world but this water goes into the sea without any use. If it is properly utilized, it will not only be useful for irrigation purpose but will also be available for drinking purpose in adequate quantity. We should not depend on ground water only for irrigation rather we should make arrangement to utilize rain water for this purpose. Kosi river originating from Nepal flows into the Ganges and plays havoc in Bihar. Today, farmers are the most pitiable lot because they are affected by both floods and drought. Therefore, I would like to know whether the government has any debt waiver scheme for the state of Bihar. Today, Kosi river is causing soil erosion on large scale. So, I would like to know whether the government is taking any steps or formulating any scheme with regard to erosion caused by Kosi River in the area from Bhagalpur to Manihari and Nabhatta.

*SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA:

SHRI HUKMDEO NARAYAN YADAV: Mithilanchal area of Bihar is affected by both floods and drought. When floods occur, they cause damage to the crops of the farmers leaving them in utter poverty. There is a long standing demand to construct dams on Barah Koshi area, Kamla Balan and Adhwara Samuh but no steps have been taken in this regard so far. I would like to urge upon the government of India to take up the matter and enter into agreement with Nepal government in this regard so that these three dams are constructed. It will generate so much electricity that it will not only cover Bihar but also half of India. There is

* Please see Supplement a need to construct a long canal from Bagha to Kishanganj to inter-connect all the rivers in the area. This will definitely solve the problem of floods and drought in this region. The work on western Kosi river is yet to be completed. So ,I want to request the government to prepare DPR and estimates for this project afresh in order to complete the project. Today, sources of irrigation i.e. river beds of dead rivers, ponds and reservoirs are under encroachment. There is a need to initiate against encroachers action in this regard under the Prevention of Damage to Public

Property Act. I also request that both Minister of Agriculture and Minister of

Water Resources together set up a commission which should formulate a major plan for finding solution to the problem of flood and drought in Mithilanchal and

North Bihar.

*SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE:

SHRI BHAGWANT MANN: The government has still not accepted the fact that the country faces impending drought as the government has not made any provision for this in the budget. The country is likely to receive 25 per cent less rainfall this year. As a result major part of the country is likely to be affected by the drought situation. But there is a lack of coordination between the states and the centre with regard to drought which needs to be set right. Punjab means a land of five rivers. But today condition in the state is such that there is neither drinking

* Please see Supplement water nor water for irrigation available as the water is contaminated with uranium.

Besides due to cultivation of paddy crops water level has depleted in the state.

Ghaggar river causes damage to the border area adjoining Haryana. If a dam is constructed on this river, the people will no longer face its menace. It will also generate electricity and the flood water can be used for other purposes. With regard to agriculture I want to say that the previous governments have brought agriculture sector in such sorry state of affair. Today farmers are not getting proper price for their produce. As a result farmers of Sangrur are committing suicides. Therefore, I request the government that it should pay attention to those farmers who feed the entire country but are going to sleep hungry today.

*SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

*SHRI RAVINDER KUSHAWAHA:

SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR: Every year the whole country is concerned about floods and drought. If we carry out proper planning for water we can deal with drought and floods in the country. The farmers are committing suicides because there is no irrigation facility for them. If we had maintained the average of 60 per cent irrigated land, we could have dealt with floods and droughts in the country. If we have a proper management of all the rivers and construct dams and barrages thereon, it would be good for the country. There is also need to

* Please see Supplement implement inter-linking of rivers. A survey conducted by the central government for the states facing such problems and a central team should be sent there to assess the losses suffered by the farmers.

*SHRI D.K. SURESH:

*SHRI R. DHRUVNARAYANA:

SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMCHANDRAN: India is a vast country, and every year, our country witnesses one calamity or the other. The worst affected by such calamities are the poor, the weaker sections, and also the disadvantaged sections of the society. Weather plays a critical role in deciding the prospects of our people. Deficit rainfall affects agricultural production badly and also affects the availability of drinking water. It is a paradox that a state like Kerala with more than 40 perennial rivers and which receives heavy downpour during South-West and North-East Monsoon, experiences acute shortage of drinking water immediately after the rainy season. We have the Russian experience of linking the rivers during the 1930s which led to the doom of their rivers. During every monsoon, the long coastal belt of Kerala is badly affected by sea erosion. The

Government of Kerala is doing its best to meet the situation. The Government of

Kerala have made a request to the Union Government to include ‘sea erosion’ as also ‘lightening’ in the category of natural calamities. Chief Minister of Kerala

* Please see Supplement made an appeal to set up a unit of the National Disaster Response Force in the

State of Kerala. I once again request the Government to consider the matter favourably.

SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI: I would like to draw the attention of the

Government through you to the drought situation in the State of Karnataka where

1016 villages of 125 talukas are facing severe drought condition. A total of 1286 villages were very severely hit by drought. Even drinking water is supplied through the tankers. The State of Karnataka received the lowest rainfall in the last

52 years. The power situation is very grim. In the monsoon, a total of 74 lakh hectares of sowing was to take place but now, it is only 18.92 lakh hectare. There is a shortage of fodder. Farmers are selling their livestock to the butchers and people are migrating from villages. When the situation is so severe, both the

Central and the State Governments should come to help of the farmers. We are foregoing crores of rupees through NPA, banks and bigger corporate houses, whereas we are paying a very meagre amount to the farmers. When the farmer losses the crop and we provide the assistance, it should be linked and calculated on the basis of investment made for the sowing, fertilizer and everything. On that basis, the NDMRF norms should be revised. If the farmer lives happily, the entire country will live happily. I would urge the Government that a farmer friendly crop insurance and weather based insurance scheme should be adopted. The International Rice Research Institute has stated that flood tolerant rice saves the farmer’s livelihood. It has been experimented in many countries like Brazil and others. I would urge the Government to popularize it.

SHRI B. SENGUTTUVAN: Allow me to congratulate the hon. Member who has initiated this discussion. Owing to El Nino factor India would face a drought like situation this year that would affect the lives of crores and crores of people. So, it is high time we really made a scientific study of this El Nino factor so as to analyse the prospective consequences. Indian agriculture is dependent on the vagaries of climatic conditions. It is not unoften that we see that whilst one part of India is reeling under the rivers in spate, another part of India suffers from the pangs of drought. We have become psychologically acclimatized to living under these ironic conditions. In our nation though death, displacement and disease come in the wake of floods, we are too poorly equipped to handle such situations. The National Disaster Management Authority is hardly well equipped to handle this sort of situation. More often than not it is the armed forces that come to the rescue of the people afflicted. Between 18th and 20th centuries more than 60 million people have died of famine and drought in India

*SHRI GANESH SINGH:

*SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY:

* Please see Supplement *DR. RATNA (NAG) DE:

SHRI VIRENDER KASHYAP: Discussion on this issue has been taking place for the past 60-70 years especially after independence without arriving at any definite conclusion. In 1951 the total flood affected area was one crore hectares and today it has increased seven times to 7 crore hectares. The situation is more or less the same regarding the drought prone area. The situation in the hilly areas is different. In 2009 I had suggested that a separate Himalayan Development

Board be constituted for the eleven hilly states in view of the unique situation prevalent there so that a separate ministry can formulate suitable plans and policies. I hope that in the coming days such separate policies would be formulated for the hilly states. Only four days ago in Himachal Pradesh in my parliamentary constituency apple orchards in 6-7 Panchayats were completely damaged due to cloud burst. In the National Calamity Relief Fund the Centre contributes 80 per cent and the state 20 per cent. This norm is very skewed. You should change this. It would be better if compensation is paid keeping in view the loss suffered. Sometime back Rs.245 crore were sanctioned for Himachal Pradesh from National Calamity Relief Fund. So far only Rs.95 crore has been released.

In this regard funds are given as per the population norms. Population in Himachal

Pradesh is less but the area is vast. It would be better if area is also included in the

* Please see Supplement norms. The rivers coming from mountains bring silt, due to which floods are caused in the plains. To control this small check dams would be useful.

SHRIMATI BUTTA RENUKA: Natural calamity can cause immense loss of life and property. Different parts of our country are vulnerable to different types of natural calamities affecting the lives and property. It is mostly the economically and socially weaker sections of the society which are seriously affected both in terms of human lives and property and most importantly their livelihood. Kurnool town, which is a part of my constituency, suffered severe damage on account of floods, locking people for over a week without food and sanitation facilities.

Cyclones are a regular feature in Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, Rayalaseema in which my constituency lies, is a perennial drought prone area and people are suffering for want of drinking water and irrigation facilities. We must find ways to face and minimize the effect of natural calamities. The Government shall also take necessary steps to prevent disasters occurring for lack of fore sight. The Kurnool flood is an appropriate example in this regard. Protection of people and their livelihood should be given top priority in managing the natural disasters.

*SHRI NARANBHAI BHIKHABHAI KACHHADIA:

SHRI BHARAT SINGH: For the past 20 days, the remotest area in Balia

Lok Sabha constituency – Sitabdiyara which is the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai

* Please see Supplement Prakash suffered extensive erosion by the Ghaghra river so much so that in

Ibrahimabad Nobrar known as Atgawan village at least 150 houses were washed away by the river. Daily 10-15 houses are being washed away. 90 per cent of those affected are below the poverty line. They do not have the means to purchase land elsewhere and settle down. They are living without tents, light and drinking water. For drinking water they have to travel 2-3 km. The women there present a most pitiable sight. Immediate relief should be provided to the people affected due to land erosion. They should be given plots at the safe places so that they could be rehabilitated. The area from Teelapur to Datha has been affected due to erosion caused by river Ghaghra. Proper arrangements be made for rehabilitation of the people who have been affected due to erosion. And they should be given due compensation.

DR. ARUN KUMAR: Most of the area in North Bihar is affected due to floods. The rivers originating from Nepal are never desilted which is the main reason for floods. Secondly, the work of strengthening the embankments is done in a very unscientific manner resulting into the increase in height of embankment and river bed alongwith the fall in the level of village land. This is the reason why lakhs of people were affected due to the scourge of flood in north Bihar last time.

We have to take some concrete step for conservation of water. A concrete action plan should be formulated for carrying out desilting work in river and strengthening of river embankments so that hydro-electricity could be produced.

This will result into better tapping of water which will also prevent the wastage and devastation caused by it.

SHRI RAHUL KASWAN: The sowing of kharif crop in my parliamentary constituency used to take place by the end of June but this time around no sowing has taken place. There is a severe crisis of fodder and water in my area. Some parts of my parliamentary constituency get water from the Chaudhary Kumbharam

Araya Lift Irrigation Project which is not being received in adequate quantity. I demand that my constituency should be given full water from the Kumbharam

Araya Lift Irrigation Project, Sidhh Mukha Canal and the Amar Singh Barrage.

Cemented channels be constructed in the areas which have been declared as irrigated land. Special grant should be given to the Rajasthan government for this purpose so that the farmer could become prosperous and the crisis of fodder and water being faced by them could be resolved. I would like to say something about the crop insurance scheme. The companies providing crop insurance should make the weather based data of the projects public. They should also roll back the increase in premium of the crop insurance.

*DR. KIRIT P. SOLANKI:

* Please see Supplement SHRI BADRUDDIN AJMAL: Today half of India is suffering due to flood and the other half due to drought. This is really unfortunate that we have not been able to solve this problem despite 67 years of Independence. This is the demand of our party that the government should ensure that the funds allocated for the purpose of flood management are not diverted. The problem of excessive flow of water in river Brahmaputra should be resolved. The devastation caused by flood in

Assam should be declared as national emergency by paying immediate attention to it.

*SHRI PREM SINGH CHANDUMAJRA

*SMT. PRATIMA MONDAL

SHRI RAMEN DEKA: Flood is a curse for Assam. After Independence, many floods have visited Assam resulting in loss of many lives and erosion of large chunks of lands. I urge upon Government to take steps to restrain the floods from Brahmaputra and its tributaries. I demand the government to protect Majuli from erosion. I demand that water of Assam should be managed properly so that people of Assam and rest of the country can get the fruits of water. So, I urge upon the Water Resources Minister to survey all bunds of Assam so that bunds can be reconstructed. Government should evolve a long-term policy to solve the problem of floods in Assam.

* Please see Supplement SHRI E.T. MOHAMMAD BASHEER: Our country is really living in a fear complex either due to flood or drought. Coming to drought, we very much apprehend drought this year in our country. As far as Kerala is concerned, 14 districts are declared as drought affected districts. Several proposals for water supply schemes are pending before the Government of India as well as before the

State Level Clearance Committee. I suggest that the Government must take expeditious steps to clear and allocate adequate funds for these kinds of projects.

The Government should think seriously about maintenance of pumping stations and construction of check dams to conserve the river water. Besides the government needs to take steps for water harvesting. The laws pertaining to protection of rivers, lakes, ponds etc. are to be made more stringent. In our curriculum, we must include disaster management.

*SHRI P. SRINIVASA REDDY

SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI: I would like to draw the attention of the ho.

Minister towards Uttar Pradesh. I would like the Finance Minister to give instructions to the government of Uttar Pradesh that electricity supply of at least 12 hours should be ensured for the farmers so that they could protect their paddy and other crops. If the Government wants to give compensation to the farmers for

* Please see Supplement drought or floods, it should be given through the people representatives then only it will reach the beneficiaries.

SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: Even after 67 years of independence, we have not been able to find a solution to the problems of floods and drought. On one hand the North Bihar is affected by floods, on the other hand the South Bihar is affected by drought. I want to urge the Government to consult all the Members of Parliament to formulate a district specific scheme to find the solution to this problem. There is problem of drinking water all over the country this year.

Farmers are facing difficulty in planting paddy due to water scarcity. I would urge the Government to pay attention to the sufferings of the farmers.

SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH: Rains are useless after crops are damaged. Same is the situation this year too. We can hope some rains in the days to come but that can cause only floods but will be of no use for the crops. Floods and drought both have adverse effects on the economy and growth rate of the country. This House discusses this issue in every monsoon session but there is no solution to it. The scheme of inter-linking of rivers was very good but unfortunately it was not implemented. But serious consideration is being given to it. Gandak project and Swarna Rekha project were started in North and South of

Bihar respectively. Approximately, Rs.30,000 crore have been spent till now but both the projects have not been completed. There are artificial floods too due to sudden release of water from several dams of Damodar Valley Corporation in our state. Hundreds of people lose their life due to it but nobody cares for it. There is

Panchet Dam of DVC but it provides no irrigation facility in the area so I request the Government to ensure that the water of all the dams be put to use in their respective areas.

*SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN

DR. P. VENUGOPAL: We face natural calamities like drought and floods every year. Besides huge economic impact on the country, these calamities cause huge loss of life and property. Some disasters are man-made. We cut trees and forest, we do not replenish the natural resource be it forest cover or water-table.

Our air-conditioners and fridges emit CFC and HCFC, which are ozone-depleting

Green House Gases. Effluents from the factories are let into our rivers, causing great damage to the environment. We let out carbon monoxide, sulphur and other obnoxious gases from our factories and vehicles. This causes air pollution. These damages are irreparable and we need to take care of the Mother Earth. Besides interlinking of rivers, we should adopt rainwater harvesting as well. The

Government should nationalize all the rivers of the country. The Prime could convene a meeting of all the Chief Ministers of States under the aegis of NIC or

NDC to thrash out issues and take a final decision so that permanently we put an

* Please see Supplement end to the water crisis. Otherwise, what we see is a dispute in sharing of water. To solve this water sharing dispute, we could also think of having a water grid similar to power grid that we have.

SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH: My parliamentary constituency,

Aurangabad faces drought almost every year. If there are no rains for one more week, there will be complete drought there. Even 10 per cent paddy sowing has not been done in the areas which do not have irrigation facility like canals.

Whenever there is drought, we work in two directions – one to provide immediate relief to the farmers and the other to find permanent solution to the problem. Work on North Koyal Irrigation Project was started almost 40 years ago in year 1975 with initial cost of Rs.80 crore only. More than Rs.1000 crore have been spent on the project with recurring expenditure of Rs.14-15 crore on establishment every year but the result is nil. Due to non-completion of this project, 1.25 lakh hectares land in three districts of Jharkhand and Bihar remains un-irrigated. If we want to find a permanent solution to the problem, we must pay attention to all these factors otherwise, we will keep facing such situations every year.

** ** ** **

P. K. GROVER, Secretary-General.

**Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued separately. © 2014 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative.

English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.