Center allocates over Rs.2000 cr NDRF Fund to Himachal

Central assistance of Rs. 2,006.40 crores for Himachal Pradesh was approved on Wednesday by a high-level committee headed by Amit Shah. This allotment for recovery and reconstruction is in reference to damage and destruction that occurred during the 2023 monsoon due to devastating floods, landslides, and cloudbursts.

A central committee headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, consisting of Union Finance and Agriculture Ministers and the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog as members was constituted on. The committee considered the proposal to allocate financial assistance to Himachal Pradesh from the recovery and reconstruction funding window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the official statement read. 

The committee approved the recovery plan of Rs 2,006.40 crore to Himachal Pradesh to carry out recovery and reconstruction activities in light of damages caused during the 2023 monsoon. Of this, Rs 1,504.80 crore will be the central share from the recovery and reconstruction funding window under the NDRF, as mentioned in the official statement.

The statement said the Central government is standing shoulder to shoulder with the state governments during natural calamities and disasters under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.According to the statement to fulfil the PM’s vision of a disaster-resilient India, under the guidance of HM Amit Shah, several initiatives to ensure effective disaster management in the country are being taken by the Home Ministry. Extensive loss of life and property is being attempted to be prevented with several initiatives for disaster risk reduction.

Central government's other recent funding to different states in reference to disaster management include Rs 1658.17 crore for Uttarakhand in the aftermath of the Joshimath subsidence, Rs 555.27 crore for Sikkim in the aftermath of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) incident of 2023. Further, it has also 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).

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 in the financial year 2024-25. 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.