Centre sanctions Rs 1,115 cr for disaster mitigation and projects in states

A high-level committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved Rs 1,000 crore for various disaster mitigation and capacity-building projects in 15 states.

The committee also approved another project for training and capacity building of civil defence volunteers in all states and Union territories at a total outlay of Rs 115.67 crore, according to an official statement.

According to an official statement, a sum of Rs 139 crore each was approved for Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Rs 100 crore for Maharashtra, Rs 72 crore each for Karnataka and Kerala, Rs 50 crore each for Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and Rs 378 crore for the eight Northeastern states -- Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura.

The committee, comprising Union ministers for finance and agriculture and the vice chairman of the NITI Aayog as members, considered the proposal to mitigate landslide risk in 15 states for funding from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).

Another proposal for training and capacity building of civil defence volunteers in all states and UT's under-preparedness and capacity building from the funding window of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) was also considered, it said.

Earlier, the committee approved Urban Flood Risk Mitigation Projects in seven cities at a total outlay of Rs 3075.65 crore and Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) risk management projects in four states at a total outlay of Rs 150 crore from the NDMF.

To fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of disaster resilient India, the Ministry of Home Affairs 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.

Under the Modi government, more than Rs 21,476 crore has already been released to the states during this year. This includes Rs 14,878.40 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to 26 states, Rs 4,637.66 crore from the NDRF to 15 states, Rs 1,385.45 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 11 states and Rs 574.93 crore from NDMF to six states.