New Delhi: The Central government on Monday sanctioned Rs 3,338.22 crore for Odisha towards relief and restoration work after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc in the state after making a landfall on May 3.
A high-level committee (HLC) chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah has approved additional central assistance of Rs 1,029.39 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64.49 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorm.
"The HLC approved additional central assistance of Rs 4,432.10 crore to three states from the NDRF -- Rs 3,338.22 crore to Odisha for Cyclone Fani, Rs 1,029.39 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64.49 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorm," said an official statement released by Ministry.
According to an official release, the meeting was held to consider additional central assistance to three states, which were affected by drought (rabi) of 2018-19, avalanches, hailstorms, landslides and cyclone 'Fani' during 2019.
The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and other senior officials. This additional assistance is besides the funds released by the Centre to the states under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
Earlier, the Centre had earlier released an amount of Rs 340.87 crore for Odisha in advance, days before Cyclone Fani made landfall.
"In addition, an ex-gratia sum of Rs 2 lakh were provided to next if the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the seriously injured in the cyclone from PM's Relief Fund," it added.
The Centre had released Rs 9,658 crore to all states in 2018-19 and it has released Rs 6,104 crore to 24 states from SDRF so far in this fiscal year.
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