Himachal CM receives ₹27.76 lakh for disaster relief fund

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 26 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday received a cheque of Rs 27,76,159 from Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh towards the "Aapda Rahat Kosh". Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board Bhawani Singh Pathania, along with MLAs Ram Kumar, Sanjay Awasthi and Sudarshan Bablu, were also present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, on August 15, CM Sukhu had announced the release of an additional Rs 100 crore for disaster-hit families to provide prompt relief, along with the launch of a Rs 3,000 crore project aimed at disaster mitigation and protecting livelihoods in affected areas, a release had said.
The Chief Minister had expressed concern over the growing impact of global warming on Himachal Pradesh, noting that frequent disasters had caused heavy losses to life and property in the State. Referring to the 2023 disaster in which the State had suffered damages worth Rs 10,000 crore, he alleged that despite the Central Government's assessment, Himachal had received only Rs 1,500 crore, that too after two years.

He had added that that year's disasters had once again caused severe losses, particularly in Mandi district, and claimed that the State had not received any financial assistance from the Centre till then. He had said that the State Government had already disbursed Rs 360.42 crore from its own resources to aid affected families. He had expressed hope that the Centre would soon extend financial support for the disaster-affected families. "Compensation for fully damaged houses had been increased from Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, while for partially damaged houses it had been raised from Rs 12,500 to Rs 1 lakh. Houses rendered uninhabitable would also be treated as fully damaged for compensation purposes," he had added. (ANI)