Swept off its feet

Three years after the super cyclone devastated Orissa, the pace of reconstruction has only proved that the more things appear to move in Orissa, the more they stand still. The blame for this rests squarely with the state administration. The Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power on the promise of rebuilding the cyclone-ravaged state. Today, hardly a fourth of the destroyed infrastructure has been restored, the dead have yet to receive their due and the living have lost all hope of reparation. Out of twenty lakh houses that were damaged in the super cyclone, only 2.5 lakh have been restored; of the estimated 8,900 dead, only 5,969 next of kin have received ex-gratia compensation; arterial roads and public buildings damaged in the cyclone are yet to be repaired even in the worst affected Erasama block, and thousands of fishermen and farmers on the coast, who had lost their livelihoods, are yet to be compensated.

All this in spite of a huge inflow of funds from international and national agencies. In fact, the state administration has failed not only to meet the challenge of restoring infrastructure but has let slip an opportunity to rebuild a more sound economy. But that required an alert state machinery, something that the Patnaik government has clearly been unable to provide.

This is ironic since it had received much support from the Centre, given its fraternal links with the NDA. Mired in red tape, the state government has been able to submit utilisation certificates for only a third of the Rs 12,000 crore made available by the Centre over the last three years for post-cyclone restoration.

Story continues below this ad

Today, the miles to Erasama are paved with broken promises and the various wings of the administration are busy passing the buck for delays in rehabilitation and reconstruction. To cap it all, experts say that climate change is likely to trigger off an eco-crisis in the state, making it more vulnerable to cyclones and flooding in times to come.

The question is this: how can a state that has not come to terms with its past, handle a future fraught with risk? The answer to this question is fundamental to the well-being of the state’s citizens. Even now all is not lost. A rejuvenated and effective machinery can make up for lost time. But what is needed is a commitment from the very top. The chief minister and his party have made a promise to the people. Now they must keep it, instead of expending their energy on internal squabbles.