The maximum funds are required for reconstruction of roads and transportation - Rs 10,046 crore
Kerala will need about Rs 31,000 crore for recovery and reconstruction following the century's worst floods, according to a UN report. UN resident coordinator in India Yuri Afanasiev presented the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram today. This is the first time the UN has prepared such a report in India.
The report assessed the damage caused due to the devastating floods in the state in August and divided the expenditure required into several categories. The maximum funds are required for reconstruction of roads and transportation (Rs 10,046 crore), followed by housing (Rs 5,443 crore), agriculture, fisheries and livestock (Rs 4,498 crore), employment and livelihood (Rs 3,896 crore), other infrastructure (Rs 2,446 crore), irrigation (Rs 1,483 crore) and water and sanitation (Rs 1,331 crore).
Chief Minister Vijayan thanked the UN for providing support to the state for flood response and Post Disaster Need Assessment. He sought UN technical support in developing sectoral recovery plans, bringing new technologies to Kerala and in strengthening the recovery committees with experts.
Mr Vijayan sought UN support for mobilising resources for the state within and outside the country.
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac thanked the UN for its assistance in mobilising funds for reconstruction and said that "This would reduce the amount of borrowing."
PDNA is the global methodology developed by the UN, the World Bank and the European Union to assess damage and loss in the wake of a disaster and to recommend the recovery needs and strategies.
In all, 76 experts from 10 UN agencies and the European Union collaborated to develop the report in 20 days.
The report was prepared after visiting 120 villages in 10 districts and interacting with experts, affected people, elected representatives, officials and representatives of civil society organisations.
Over 400 people had lost their lives and several houses destroyed in the unprecedented deluge in the state in August.