New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a relief package of more than Rs 2,000-crore for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and flood mitigation measures in the flood-affected Northeastern states. The announcement came at the end of a series of high level meetings, where the Prime Minister reviewed the flood situation, and relief measures in the states from the region.
Mr Modi through the course of the day held separate, detailed review meetings on the situation in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. The Chief Ministers of the respective states, and senior officials were present at the meetings. A memorandum was received from the Chief Minister of Mizoram, who could not personally make it to the meeting.
More than Rs 1,200-crore will be given by the Union Government for the infrastructure sector alone to be utilised for repair, maintenance, and strengthening of roads, highways, bridges, and other damaged infrastructure. The Centre will also provide Rs 100-crore for carrying out a study to synergise efforts towards finding time-bound long term solutions to recurrent floods in the region.
A sum of Rs 400-crore will be provided for improving the water holding capacity of the Brahmaputra river, which will assist in flood control. The Centre has approved Rs 600-crore as central share of SDRF in the current financial year. Of this, Rs 345-crore has already been released, and the remaining will be released immediately, to assist the states in relief and rehabilitation work.
The Northeastern region, with eight per cent of India's land area, contains one-third of the country's water resources. The Centre will constitute a high-level committee, with representation from ministries of the Government of India and the states, for proper management of the region's vast water resources.
In addition, an ex-gratia assistance of Rs 2-lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 to each of those seriously injured due to the floods, has been sanctioned under the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF), an official release here said. (UNI)
