Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has advised the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the two States worst hit by floods, to utilize the Calamity Relief Fund immediately.
Mr. Chidambaram who toured the flood-affected areas of the two States on Monday said that once 75 per cent of the CRF got exhausted, the State government may draw on the National Calamity Contingency Fund from which advances would be provided.
“As soon as the State government concerned is ready to receive the Central team, a team will be sent to the State to assess the damage according to well established norms,” he said .
While assuring the State governments that availability of funds will not be a constraint and that they should focus on providing relief to the affected people, the Minister said that further measures would be considered after Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee returned from abroad on Wednesday.
`Centre ready to help'
“We were deeply moved by the scale of the calamity. The loss of life, property, cattle, and standing crops is enormous. Lakhs of people have been accommodated in camps. Rescue and relief operations are in full swing, and it may take a few more days for the situation to stabilize. There will be more work to be done in the days and weeks ahead. The Central government stands ready to provide more help, if needed,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
