NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday approved the release of over Rs 4,432 crore to Odisha, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh for the damage caused by natural calamities in these states during the last financial year.
However, soon after the statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Kerala Finance minister Thomas Isaac pointed out that Kerala, one of the worst affected last year, was conspicuously missing from the list. He tweeted, “Home Ministry approves Rs 4,432 crores from National Disaster Response Fund for the flood affected states. Share of Kerala, the worst affected, is zero!”
The ministry said a high-level committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved additional central assistance of Rs 3,338.22 crore to Odisha for the damage caused by the cyclone Fani, Rs 1,029.39 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64.49 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorm during 2018-19. The funds will be disbursed from the National Disaster Response Fund.
The MHA, said that the Centre has decided to immediately constitute and send inter-ministerial central teams (IMCTs) to visit 11 states, including Kerala, to assess the damages.
The decision was taken at a meeting of a high-level committee headed by Amit Shah on Monday. The MHA will immediately constitute and depute IMCTs to states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala affected by recent floods, read the official statement.