Assam Flood Relief Extended to 31,951 More Families, Total Beneficiaries Near 1 Lakh

Guwahati: The Assam government has expanded its interim flood relief assistance to another 31,951 families in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat, taking the total number of families receiving one-time financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to 96,842.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Today that the government has so far spent Rs 145.26 crore on the relief programme. While the distribution process is nearing completion, enumeration is still underway in the Sivasagar Assembly constituency.

Sarma said another 3,000 to 4,000 families could be included in a possible third phase, which would take the total number of beneficiaries to nearly one lakh.

He said the government had prioritised cash assistance as flood-affected families needed immediate financial support to return home and begin rebuilding their lives. According to Sarma, people in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat particularly require such assistance to recover from the impact of the floods.

As part of the wider relief measures, the state government has also provided Rs 2,500 through Direct Benefit Transfer to Orunodoi beneficiaries in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, a Rapid Damage Assessment is being carried out across the four districts to determine the extent of the flood losses. As many as 1,144 teachers have been deployed to assist in the assessment. So far, the government portal has recorded damage to 26,681 houses and 18,887 cattle sheds.

The assessment has also documented 41 cases involving handloom-related raw materials and damage involving 5,98,691 livestock. In the agriculture sector, around 99,256 farmers have been identified as having suffered flood-related damage, while assessment of losses in fisheries is still underway.

The first phase of the survey is expected to be completed by August 28-29. The collected information will subsequently be published on a web portal, allowing affected residents to verify the details and report any discrepancies.

The government expects that some eligible beneficiaries or damage cases may be left out or inaccurately assessed during the initial exercise. A second round of field verification is therefore scheduled to begin around September 1-2. Officials will visit affected households directly rather than requiring residents to file individual complaints.

The second verification exercise is expected to conclude by September 10-11, with the final list targeted for publication by September 15-16. A third assessment will also be conducted wherever necessary.

The state government has set a target of completing the entire assessment process and transferring eligible assistance through DBT before Durga Puja.

Sarma said the government aimed to ensure that flood-affected families receive the financial assistance due to them before the festival. The damage recorded on the government portal has so far been estimated at around Rs 480 crore, covering various assets affected by the floods.

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