Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday urged the Centre to intervene in the distribution of ex gratia to the kin of storm and quake victims to ensure transparency.

He accused the Nitish Kumar government of not doing a correct assessment of the damage in the two natural calamities.

Manjhi also hinted at the involvement of middlemen and alleged Nitish of not having a proper system to ensure rehabilitation work in the affected districts. "I urge the Centre to intervene in distribution of compensation by the state government. I request them to make a team and send it to Bihar to keep a tab on the process. Many times, government make announcements but the deceased's family never gets the relief. The Centre should ensure that rehabilitation work is carried out properly," Manjhi said.

Citing the example of the Kosi deluge that hit Supaul, Madhepura, Saharsa, Purnea and Araria and affected 35 lakh people, Manjhi alleged that there was involvement of middlemen in the rehabilitation work. "I was minister in-charge of Supaul, Madhepura and Saharsa. The state government had taken a loan of Rs 1,000 crore from the World Bank for Kosi rehabilitation work but not even 10 per cent of the amount was spent. Genuinely affected people didn't get any help. The same thing should not occur in the case of storm and quake rehabilitation work," Manjhi said.

"I doubt if the state government is assessing the damage properly. Very soon, I will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and request his intervention," Manjhi said.