Rs 4,432 crore aid for 3 disaster-hit states, Kerala misses out

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday approved assistance of over Rs 4,432 crore to Odisha, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh for the damage caused by natural calamities in these states in the last financial year. It also decided to immediately constitute and depute an inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) to assess the damage caused by heavy rain and floods in 11 states.
In a statement, the home ministry said a high-level committee headed by home minister Amit Shah had cleared additional central assistance of Rs 3,338 crore to Odisha for the damage caused by Cyclone Fani, Rs 1,029 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorm during 2018-19. The funds will be disbursed from the NDRF.
The panel also reviewed the existing practice of deputing an IMCT only after the receipt of memorandum from the state in the wake of any severe calamity. The IMCT will now be constituted immediately in the aftermath of any natural calamity of severe nature.
The IMCT will again visit the state after submission of the memorandum for detailed assessment of the damage. The home ministry will immediately constitute and depute the IMCTs to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala affected by recent floods.
Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac pointed out that the state was conspicuously missing from the list. “Home Ministry approves Rs4432 crores from National Disaster Response Fund for the flood affected states. Share of Kerala, the worst affected , is zero!” he tweeted.