PMO seeks industry’s support for rebuilding Leh houses

NEW DELHI - A week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited flood-ravaged Leh, the government Wednesday sought the support of Indian industry to meet the deadline of rebuilding houses hit by a devastating cloudburst before the onset of winter.

T.K.A. Nair, principal secretary to the prime minister, met officials from top business chambers and industry bodies and sought their assistance in rebuilding both infrastructure and livelihoods in Leh and Kargil, the prime minister’s office said.

S.S. Kapoor, chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) participated in the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Hari Bhartia, president of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general of CII, Harshpati Singhania, former president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Swati Piramal, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (ASSOCHAM), Ashok Kajaria, president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), and U.D. Choubey, director-general, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE).

During his visit to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir Aug 17, the prime minister announced a Rs.125-crore relief package and promised that all houses destroyed in the Aug 6 floods will be rebuilt in two-and-a-half months.

Nair mentioned that there was no shortage of funds and urged the industry for pooling together knowledge and implementation resources to ensure that the target of rehabilitation of the population before winter was met.

He mentioned that there was a need for the private sector to participate and partner the government in such initiatives, the PMO said.

The industry bodies assured that they will spare no effort to assist and promised that they will step up their efforts in coordination with the PMO and the state government.