NEW DELHI: A high-level committee on disaster risk reduction headed by home minister Amit Shah has approved Rs 1,555 crore of additional central assistance to five states affected by floods, landslides and cyclonic storm during 2024.
Andhra Pradesh is the major recipient with Rs 608 crore approved for it towards disaster mitigation and response. The central assistance has been allocated from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The fund availability is also subject to 50% adjustment of the opening balance for the year available in the state disaster response fund (SDRF).
While Rs 171 crore has been approved for Nagaland, Rs 255 crore has been allocated to Odisha, Rs 232 crore for Telangana and Rs 289 crore for Tripura.
This additional assistance is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the states. During 2024-25, the Centre released Rs 18,323 crore to 27 states in SDRF, and Rs 4,808 crore from NDRF to 18 states.
Separately, the govt allocated Rs 2,209 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 14 states and Rs 720 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to eight states. Immediately after the disasters last year, the Centre had deputed inter-ministerial teams to assess the situation on the ground, the home ministry said.