subhash nigam
New Delhi: The High Level Committee (HLC) under the Chairmanship of the Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, has approved additional Central assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to six States, which were affected by cyclone/ floods/ landslides during this year. HLC has approved additional Central assistance of Rs 4,381.88 crore to six States from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
For cyclone ‘Amphan’, Rs 2,707.77 crore has been approved for West Bengal and Rs.128.23 crore for Odisha. For cyclone ‘Nisarga’ Rs 268.59 crore has been approved for Maharashtra. For floods and landslides during the South-West monsoon, Rs.577.84 crore has been approved for Karnataka, Rs 611.61 crore for Madhya Pradesh, and Rs 87.84 crore for Sikkim.
In the aftermath of cyclone ‘Amphan’, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had visited the affected States of West Bengal and Odisha on 22nd May 2020. As announced by the Prime Minister, financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 crore to West Bengal and Rs 500 crore to Odisha were released, in advance, on 23rd May 2020 for immediate relief activities in these States. In addition, the Prime Minister had also announced Rs. 2 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of the dead and Rs. 50,000 for the injured, which was over and above the ex-gratia provided through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the NDRF.
In all the six States, the Central Government had deputed Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) immediately after the calamities, without waiting for the receipt of Memorandum from the affected State Governments. In addition, during the financial year 2020-21, till date, the Central Government has released Rs 15,524.43 crore to 28 States from the SDRF.