National Disaster Fund: Rs 616.63 crore hangs in balance, no letter from Centre yet

* One month remains for fiscal to end

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: With just one month left of fiscal 2019-2020, it is rather strange that the Revenue & Disaster Management Department has not yet received any letter from the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) regarding the Centre’s approval of the money under NDRF (National Disaster Response Fund). According to a Government of India media communication, the MHA had approved Rs 616.63 crore to Assam for flood damage repair work under NDRF on January 6, 2020.

Sources informed The Sentinel that the Department has been waiting for the approval letter from the Central government for commencing repair works of the many infrastructural damages across the State in the 2019 floods. In the absence of MHA’s approval letter, the Department cannot sanction any scheme under NDRF. The sources further stated that it came to know of the sanctioning of the NDRF money only though media.

Under NDRF, the Centre provides 100 per cent additional fund for restoration works following natural disasters.

Significantly, this was the sixth time since 1995 that the MHA had approved the NDRF fund to Assam. Altogether Rs 21 crore was approved in fiscal 1996-97; Rs 59.90 crore in 1998-99; Rs 211.55 crore in 2004-05; Rs 300 crore in 2008-09; and Rs 45 crore in 2012-13.

However, the MHA has already released the normal allocation of around Rs 559 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the financial year 2019-2020. It was released in two installments. While the Centre provides 90 per cent of SDRF, the State government has to bear the share of the remaining 10 per cent.

During the last 2019 floods, more than 100 persons died and substantial infrastructural damages took place across the State.

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