Himachal govt helped disaster-affected people by changing rules: CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Sunday that the state government used its resources to help the disaster-affected people by changing the rules.

"No special relief package was received from the Central Government, nor was it declared a national disaster, nor was any additional money received for the disaster. The government has used its resources to help disaster-affected families by changing the rules," CM Sukhu said while speaking to reporters in Shimla.

"As per the rules of the central as well as the state governments, Rs 1,30,000 is provided for disaster-affected houses, be it a Pakka house or a Kachcha house, but we changed the rules and decided to procure Rs 7 lakh for the same. Today, we have released the first installation off the said amount", he added.

Earlier this year, excessive rains in Himachal Pradesh led to multiple landslides and cloudbursts in several places.

According to the officials, in rain-related incidents in this year's monsoon so far, 400 people have lost their lives and over 13,000 houses have been damaged.

The rain catastrophe also resulted in massive infrastructural losses.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly, in September this year, passed a resolution demanding the Union government to declare destruction caused by recent heavy rains in the state as a "national disaster.