Centre approves Rs 2,443 crore in disaster aid for 4 states

NEW DELHI: The Centre today sanctioned Rs 2,443 crore for four states -- Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha and Manipur -- as central assistance for natural disasters faced by them.

The fund was approved by the High Level Committee (HLC) for central assistance to states on drought, landslides and floods headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh at its meeting attended by, among others, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Making allocations out of the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), the HLC approved assistance for Chhattisgarh to the tune of Rs 925 crore, Rs 1,104 crore for West Bengal and Rs 34 crore for Manipur, an official statement said.

It also reviewed the decision in the case of Odisha and approved assistance of Rs 380 crore for the state.

The HLC examined the proposals based on the report of the central teams which visited these states in the wake of severe natural disasters.

There was a 14 per cent deficit in southwest monsoon this year due to the influence of the El Nino phenomenon. Last year, there was a monsoon deficit of 12 per cent. Rainfall deficits were experienced even as there were floods in some other parts of the country.

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Agriculture Secretary Siraj Hussain and senior officers from the ministries of home, finance and agriculture attended the meeting.