Manmohan Singh to chair first meeting of Cabinet committee on Uttarakhand floods

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will tomorrow chair the first meeting of a Cabinet committee set up to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

The committee has been tasked with providing broad guidance to reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Uttarakhand, and take such decisions, as may be required.

Singh has announced Rs 1,000 crore for disaster relief measures in flood-devastated parts of the state.

Apart from the package announced by Singh, the government expects Rs 2,500 to 3,000 crore more from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for the reconstruction and rebuilding efforts.

Different central ministries have also announced additional financial assistance to the hill state.

Defence Minister AK Antony, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Road Transport Minister Oscar Fernandes, Law Minister Kapil Sibal, Housing Minister Girija Vyas, Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh and Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat are the members of the committee.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and National Disaster Management Authority vice chairman M Shashidhar Reddy are the permanent invitees.