The Centre on Monday approved Rs 669.85 crore to Karnataka under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for relief works in flood and landslide-hit areas of the state.
A high-level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved the sanctioning of funds to states hit by floods and landslides in August last year during the South-West Monsoon season.
The Centre’s nod comes days after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa made a public appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in Tumakuru last week, urging him to release additional funds for flood relief.
Karnataka faced two spells of flooding due to unprecedented rainfall in catchment areas of River Krishna, resulting in a combined death toll of 137 people, apart from widespread damage to property and crops.
Faced with criticism, even among the BJP ranks in Karnataka, the Centre had released Rs 1,200 crore from the NDRF as interim relief in October, nearly three months after the flood havoc.
With the fresh approval, the total assistance from the Centre to the state stands at Rs 1,869 crore. Karnataka had submitted a report claiming losses to the tune of Rs 38,000 crore.
According to a release, Karnataka has received the highest amount of funds from the Centre among the 13 flood-hit states. While a release by PIB claimed that Rs 1,869 crore was approved, state government officials clarified that the figure was inclusive of Rs 1,200 cr released in October.
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