Amit Shah-Led Committee Clears Rs 3,063 Crore Additional Central Assistance To Six States Under National Disaster Response Fund

Union Home Minister Amit Shah led High Level Committee on Thursday (30 December) approved a central assistance of Rs 3,063 crore to six states under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), said an official release.

"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 floods, landslides and cyclones during 2021," the Home Ministry said in a release.

These six states are Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The HLC approved additional central assistance of Rs 3,063.21 crore from the NDRF:

• For Cyclone ‘Tauktae’- 2021, Rs 1,133.35 crore to Gujarat;

• For Cyclone ‘Yaas’- 2021, Rs 586.59 crore to West Bengal;

• For floods/landslides during the South West Monsoon, 2021, Rs 51.53 crore to Assam, Rs 504.06 Crore to Karnataka, Rs 600.50 crore to Madhya Pradesh and Rs 187.18 crore to Uttarakhand.

This additional assistance is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the States in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at the disposal of the states, the ministry said.

During the financial year 2021-22, the Central Government has released Rs 17,747.20 crore to 28 states in their State Disaster Respone Fund (SDRF), according to the ministry.

Further, Rs 3,543.54 Crore has been released to seven States from NDRF, it added.

In the aftermath of Cyclone ‘Taukte’ and ‘Yaas’, Rs 1,000 crore was released in advance from NDRF to Gujarat on 20 May and Rs 300 crore to West Bengal on 29 May.

During the year 2021-22, the Central Government had deputed 22 Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) immediately after natural calamities, without waiting for the receipt of a Memorandum from the affected State Governments, the ministry said.