BHUBANESWAR: The Centre on Wednesday approved additional assistance of Rs 255.24 crore to Odisha under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
Odisha was among five states affected by flood, landslides and cyclonic storms in 2024. The high-level committee (HLC) headed by Union Home minister and minister of Cooperation Amit Shah approved a total Rs 1,554.99 crore to the five states.
This central assistance from NDRF is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the states in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and subject to an adjustment of 50 per cent of the opening balance for the year available in the SDRF.
The highest Rs 608.08 crore has been approved for Andhra Pradesh followed by Rs 288.93 crore for Tripura, Rs 231.75 crore for Telangana and Rs 170.99 crore for Nagaland.
Prior to the approval of the additional central assistance, an inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) deputed by the Centre had visited the state, immediately after the calamities, without waiting for the receipt of a formal memorandum.
This apart, the central government has released Rs 18,322.80 crore to 27 states in SDRF and Rs 4,808.30 crore from NDRF to 18 states while Rs 2,208.55 crore was released from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 14 states and Rs 719.72 crore from National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to eight states during the financial year 2024-25.