A High-Level Committee (HLC) chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah today approved additional financial assistance to the tune of Rs 3,063.21 crore, under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), to six states that were affected by natural disasters this year, an official statement said.
The six states are Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
As per the statement, Gujarat will get an aid package of Rs 1,133.35 crore for Cyclone Tauktae, while West Bengal will receive Rs 586.59 crore to mitigate the effects of Cyclone Yaas.
Karnataka (Rs 504.06 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 600.50 crore), Assam (Rs 51.53 crore) and Uttarakhand (Rs 187.18 crore) too will be compensated for floods and landslides that occurred during the southwest monsoon, the press release added.
"This relief package is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the states from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at the disposal of the states," the statement read.
During FY2021-22, the central government has released a total of Rs. 17,747.20 crore to 28 states in their SDRF. Further, Rs. 3,543.54 Crore has been released to seven States from NDRF, the statement said.
In the aftermath of ‘Tauktae’ and ‘Yaas’, Rs. 1,000 crore was released in advance from NDRF to Gujarat on May 20, 2021, while West Bengal received Rs 300 crore on May 29.The statement went on to add that the Centre deputed 22 Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) immediately after natural calamities, without waiting for the receipt of a Memorandum from the affected state governments.
(Edited by : Vijay Anand)
First Published: IST