Bengal rolls out red carpet for central team for cyclone damage assessment

More than a month after locking horns with the Centre over the visit of inter-ministerial central teams (IMCTs) to inspect its Covid-19 management, the Bengal government in a role reversal has now has called another such team on a three-day visit to assess the losses due to cyclone Amphan as “state guests” and “VIPs”.

“It may kindly be noted that the dignitary is a State Guest as per Govt’s Entertainment of State Guest Rules. It is therefore requested that due courtesies and facilities may kindly be extended to the VIP and party during their visit to the state,” reads a notification issued by the deputy secretary, department of disaster management and civil defence issued Wednesday night.

The seven-member IMCT’s visit is for an “on the spot assessment of the damage and admissibility of such supplemental central assistance in the wake of cyclonic storm Amphan,” the notification says.

The IMCT, led by Anuj Sharma, Joint Secretary (Cyber & Information Security), ministry of home affairs, is scheduled to hold a meeting with chief secretary Rajiva Sinha on Thursday evening after their arrival, make aerial survey of the districts of North and South 24-Parganas, and return on Saturday following a few more discussions with state officials. Other members of the team are from the ministries of agriculture, water resources, power, transport and the departments of fisheries and expenditure.

The Centre has released an immediate assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to the state following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aerial survey along with chief minister Mamata Banerjee two days after the May 20 cyclone that some have called as the worst natural calamity to hit Bengal in 300 years.

Chief Minister Banerjee had earlier said that her initial estimate puts the losses at Rs 1 lakh crore.

The change in the state government’s attitude towards this IMCT in contrast to the two IMCTs that visited to inspect and assess alleged Covid-19 mismanagement on the state’s part has triggered political controversies.

During the April visit of the IMCTs, Bengal had virtually locked horns with the Centre, alleged disruption of the country’s federal structure and the state and the IMCTs frequently traded charges.

The state unit of the BJP taunted the government for its change of heart.

“The government objected to the previous IMCTs because they were afraid their data fudging would be caught and the mismanagement exposed. Now they want to extend a red carpet because the state expects money from the Centre,” said Rahul Sinha, national secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opponent to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The TMC refused to take the BJP’s bait.

“We don’t want to comment on it because we don’t want to politicise an administrative meeting on disaster management. Last time, we objected because the teams arrived before informing us. This time, they informed us in advance,” said a Trinamool Congress spokesperson.