Himachal Pradesh: Centre approves Rs 2,000 crore assistance aid for flood, landslide damages

New Delhi: A high-level committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved Rs 2,006.40 crore in central assistance for Himachal Pradesh for recovery and reconstruction efforts following the devastating floods, landslides, and cloudburst of 2023.

The committee, comprising Union Finance and Agriculture Ministers and the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog as members, considered the proposal for financial assistance to the state from the recovery and reconstruction funding window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), an official statement said.

The high-level committee has approved the recovery plan of Rs 2,006.40 crore to Himachal Pradesh, which will help the state in carrying out recovery and reconstruction activities, arising due to damage and destruction occurred during the 2023 monsoon due to floods, cloudbursts and landslides, it said.

Of this, Rs 1,504.80 crore will be the central share from the recovery and reconstruction funding window under the NDRF, it added.

On December 12, 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs approved an additional financial assistance of Rs 633.73 crore from the NDRF for Himachal Pradesh.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is standing shoulder to shoulder with the state governments during natural calamities and disasters, the statement said.

To fulfil Modi's vision of a disaster-resilient India, the home ministry, under the guidance of Shah, has taken several initiatives to ensure effective management of disasters in the country, the statement said.

Several steps have been taken to prevent any extensive loss of life and property during disasters by strengthening the disaster risk reduction system in India, it said.

The central government had approved a recovery plan of Rs 1658.17 crore for Uttarakhand in the aftermath of the Joshimath subsidence and of Rs 555.27 crore for Sikkim in the aftermath of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) incident of 2023.

Further, the central government approved several mitigation projects with an overall financial outlay of Rs 7,253.51 crore, for mitigating the risks of several hazards in the areas of urban floods (Rs 3075.65 crore), landslides (Rs 1,000 crore), GLOF (Rs 150 crore), forest fires (Rs 818.92 crore), lightning (Rs 186.78 crore) and drought (Rs 2022.16 crore).

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.

During the financial year 2024-25, the central government allocated Rs 20,264.40 crore to 28 states under the SDRF and Rs 5,160.76 crore to 19 states under the NDRF.

Additionally, Rs 4984.25 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 19 states and Rs 719.72 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to eight states were also released. PTI ACB RHL