The audit body CAG made holes in the flood management of the Government of Kerala. (file)
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out the lapses in the flood management of the Kerala government, saying that the floodplains in the state are yet to be demarcated and a law on floodplain area is yet to be enacted.
A recent report said the authorities had failed to issue a precautionary alert or warning when floods wreaked havoc in the southern state in 2018.
“Kerala State Water Policy 2008 was not updated in accordance with the National Water Policy and the state lacked provisions for flood control and flood management,” the CAG said in the report titled “Preparation and response to floods in Kerala”, which was introduced. in the state assembly on Thursday.
Pointing out the lack of large-scale flood hazard maps in the southern state, the agency said the state’s disaster management plan does not include a flood vulnerability map as per the Central Water Commission (CWC) norms for flood-prone areas. .
For estimation of rainfall in Periyar basin by IMA, only six rain gauges were available against the requirement of 32.
The CAG also observed that the project for obtaining real time data on rainfall, stream-flow etc. did not give reliable data on real time basis even after a lapse of five years.
“Communication infrastructure was non-functional in some areas, including dam sites and government offices, during or after the 2018 floods.”
The report said that although 7112 works of immediate repair and restoration of damages in the 2018 floods were approved for execution under the State Disaster Response Fund, 18 per cent of the work was completed even after a lapse of two years and eight months. was yet to happen.
Meanwhile, the CAG’s finance audit report, which was also tabled in the Assembly, said the state has not achieved any of the targets set out in the medium-term financial plan.
“Total credit as a percentage of GSDP for 2019-20 increased from 31.05 per cent to 32.07 per cent,” it said.
The revenue receipts of the state increased from Rs 69,033 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 90,225 crore in 2019-20, registering a growth of 31 per cent during the last five years.
The CAG also continued to criticize the state government’s off-budget borrowings through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Kerala Social Security Pension Ltd.
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