The Central government will provide financial assistance of around ₹3,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for drought and cyclone relief, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
“Based on approval of the High Level Committee (HLC), the Central government has sanctioned ₹1,793 crore to Tamil Nadu and ₹1,782 crore to Karnataka for drought relief from NDRF,” the statement said.
The Centre has released a sum of ₹1,448 crore to Tamil Nadu from the NDRF after adjusting ₹345 crore as the balance available in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), the statement said. It has additionally released ₹264 crore from the NDRF to Tamil Nadu as central assistance for cyclonic storm ‘Vardha’ that hit the State in December last year.
Similarly, for Karnataka, ₹1,235 crore has been released from the NDRF after adjusting balance in SDRF and the previous sanctions by the Central government, it added.
After receiving detailed demands from these States, the Centre had deputed its Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) to visit the drought affected areas for assessment of the calamity, the Finance Ministry said. “The High Level Committee (HLC) had approved the quantum of assistance to the States based on the extant norms of assistance and the report of the IMCT,” it added.
