India Today – August 13, 2018

An abandoned project

for flood control wreaks

havoc in Kuttanad

Man-made

Disaster

By Jeemon Jacob

KERALA

U

dayakumar Paramankulam

and his family were forced to

flee their home in Kainakary

village after floods hit Kuttanad in

mid-July. Like them, nearly 45,

villagers of Alappuzha district were

moved to 203 relief camps, while they

waited for the waters to recede from

their flooded homes and paddy farms.

Floods are not unusual in Kut-

tanad. But as Udayakumar, 50, says,

“normally the water recedes after it

stops raining. This time, it’s a deluge

even after days of sunshine.” Their

home, like thousands of others,

remains submerged. And adding to

their miseries is the looming threat of

disease from the stagnant waters.

Known as the ‘Rice Bowl of Kerala’,

Kuttanad comprises a 900 sq km delta

region that was reclaimed from the sea

some 150 years ago. It is a unique eco-

system of freshwater lakes and canals

amid vast swathes of rice paddies, 1.2 to

2 metres below sea level.

Paddy farmer Anirudhan Vela-

yudhan, 77, blames the government

for Kuttanad’s woes. He says the

floods have come to stay because of

the shoddy implementation of the

Rs 1,840 crore Kuttanad Package,

designed by M.S. Swaminathan (a na-

tive of Kuttanad) in September 2010.

Velayudhan says most of the package

was misappropriated to benefit rich

landlords and the land mafia.

Meant for preventing the degrada-

tion of the aquatic ecosystem through

flood control and development of ag-

riculture and fisheries as well as water

chief minister) is discriminatory and

provides an escape route for the cor-

rupt,” says the Left legislature party

leader, Sujan Chakrabarty.

Speaking during the debate in the

state assembly, Mamata reasoned that

she was exempt only in matters of

“public order”, which was a limited

area. “Other subjects under the state

list are under the purview of the

Lokayukta,” she said. Responding to

the opposition’s disapproval, the chief

minister said: “If you really feel this is

a weak bill... then when you form the

government, you amend it according

to your own needs.”

But even beyond what constitutes

‘public order’, as the law now stands,

the Lokayukta will need the approval

of two-thirds of the assembly to pro-

ceed on allegations of corruption.

The opposition was livid. “The

chief minister boasts of being satatar

pratik (symbol of honesty), so what

prompted her to seek the shield of ex-

emption through amendments?” asked

state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.

Mamata, however, pointed out

that the amended legislation has been

prepared in accordance with the Lok-

pal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, passed

by the Centre, which similarly excludes

prime ministers from scrutiny. The

Trinamool Congress’s health minister,

Chandrima Bhattacharya, justified the

exempting of CMs citing this clause.

While Congress leader Abdul

Mannan sought to justify former

prime minister Manmohan Singh’s

reasons for excluding prime ministers,

Kolkata is rife with speculation on

whether this is a move to shelter Ma-

mata from being implicated in finan-

cial scams like Saradha and Narada as

some of her ministers have been. The

CM, meanwhile, insisted that “only the

people have the right to question my

credibility”. There was no Lokayukta

in Rajiv Gandhi’s time, but that did

not spare him from the Bofors probe,

she said, in an evident jibe against the

Congress’s first family.

In the end, despite all the ruckus,

the amendments were voted in with an

overwhelming majority. But many are

already seeing this as a sign of “weak-

ness”. Does Mamata Banerjee fear a

crack in the party’s foundation? n

OUT OF HARM’S WAY Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

KUTTANAD

SUBIR HALDER

AUGUST 13, 2018 INDIA TODAY 17