Relief must be fair, Sonia tells PM

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. The Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, who recently spent three days in the earthquake affected areas in Gujarat, has said the relief measures should be implemented in a fair and equitable manner.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, she said the overwhelming need was for shelter and it must be provided before the onset of summer. ``While the enormity of the tragedy is greater in the Kutch area, it is also true that people in Saurashtra are feeling they have been neglected in terms of relief operations.''

Ms. Gandhi, who participated in the various relief operations and interacted with the affected families, said the tragedy of the quake would be enhanced manifold if the influential were able to corner the benefits of the relief efforts.

She said there was an apprehension that the State Government was deliberately not taking steps to remove the debris because the number of dead could go up. The debris should be cleared within a stipulated time-frame, said Ms. Gandhi.

The Congress leader felt there was a need to change the norms for payment of cash doles. Employment generating programmes in the areas affected by the quake and drought should be started immediately as there were no other modes of employment available. Besides, the policy on adoption of villages should be declared immediately so that NGOs, government institutions and organisations could take up the rehabilitation work immediately.

She also wanted the Government to come out with a separate industrial policy for the quake-hit areas, including soft loans, tax holidays and sales tax benefits. Industries must be discouraged from shifting, and problems of migrant labour tackled on a priority basis.

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