K'taka hikes flood compensation to Rs 10,000 per family

The state Cabinet on Wednesday decided to hike the per-family flood relief compensation to Rs 10,000 in order to help the displaced people make ends meet while they rebuild their lives.

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Currently, every household in areas that are declared as flood-hit is entitled to receive Rs 3,800 under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) or State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF).

“The Cabinet has decided that the state government will give a top up of Rs 6,200, making it Rs 10,000 in total,” Revenue Secretary (disaster management) TK Anil Kumar said.

A government order to give effect to the Cabinet decision was issued late Wednesday evening by the Revenue department.

The flood situation has improved, authorities said, but the death toll has now touched 61 after seven more bodies were found on Wednesday. As many as 6.97 lakh people have been evacuated to safety in 103 flood-hit taluks across 22 districts.

A total of 58,620 houses have been damaged either completely or partially, according to preliminary estimates and crop losses have affected 4.69 lakh hectares.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has requested the Centre to release Rs 3,000 crore towards flood relief works, whereas the Opposition Congress and JD(S) have demanded an immediate interim relief package of Rs 5,000 crore.

The number of relief centres has reduced to 1,096 and so has the number of people staying in them - 3.75 lakh. This is because people are slowly heading back to their villages to salvage whatever is left, officials said.