Leader of the House of Surat Municipal Corporation, Natu Soma Patel, said the party had decided that, besides slum-dwellers, even middle-class people who had been affected be given cash doles. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held at Gandhi Smruti on Monday.

The BJP councillors had earlier conducted a survey in all housing societies and prepared a list of those people deserving financial assistance. The party felt that not only slum-dwellers but also middle-class people need to be compensated for their losses, he added.

According to Patel, the district authorities had started verifications after the list was submitted by the party. He claimed that the party was able to complete 90 per cent survey in some of the worst-affected areas like Ved Road and Katargam.

The Congress and Rashtriya Janata Party have already taken massive rallies demanding compensation to all those who were yet to get cash doles. Middle-class who were affected by the floods had been mounting pressure on the ruling BJP to address their grievances too. The BJP with its middle-class base naturally could not afford to ignore their interests.