Meghalaya Secures Financial Assistance For Lightning And Forest Fire Mitigation

NEW DELHI: As part of the approved projects, Rs. 2,022.16 crore has been allocated for catalytic assistance to 12 drought-prone states. The central share of this funding stands at Rs. 1,200 crore. The beneficiary states include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Additionally, the committee has approved a Rs. 186.78 crore mitigation project on lightning safety in 50 high-risk districts across 10 states—Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

In another major decision, the government has sanctioned Rs. 818.92 crore for the Mitigation Scheme for Forest Fire Risk Management, covering 144 high-priority districts in 19 states. Of this, Rs. 690.63 crore will be provided from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The scheme aims to transform forest fire management by enhancing prevention, preparedness, and recovery measures.

The states set to implement this initiative include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, under Amit Shah’s leadership, continues to take significant steps to strengthen disaster risk reduction in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a disaster-resilient India. Prior to these approvals, the HLC had sanctioned funds for several other projects, including Rs. 3,075.65 crore for urban flood risk mitigation in seven major cities, Rs. 150 crore for GLOF risk management in four states, and Rs. 1,000 crore for landslide risk mitigation across 15 states.

In the current financial year, over Rs. 24,981 crore has already been released to various states for disaster preparedness and response. This includes Rs. 17,479.60 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to 27 states, Rs. 4,808.30 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to 18 states, Rs. 1,973.55 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 13 states, and Rs. 719.72 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to eight states.

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