BENGALURU: The Union Finance Ministry released Rs 395.5 crore as the second installment of the central government’s share of the State Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (SDRMF) on Friday. The Centre’s first installment share of Rs 395.5 crore was released to Karnataka in April this year.
“We had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release funds to take up relief works after heavy rain. Responding to the state’s request, the Centre released SDRMF fund of Rs 395.5 crore as advance,” Revenue Minister R Ashoka stated on Friday.
Earlier this month, during a video conference with the PM, Revenue Minister Ashoka and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had briefed the PM about the extent of rain and flood damage. The state had initially pegged the damages at Rs 4,000 crore and sought financial assistance from the Centre to tackle the situation. However, according to officials, a detailed report is being prepared and the extent of damage could go up to Rs 10,000 crore. During the video conference, the State had also requested the release of SDRMF funds.