Monsoon fury: Centre releases Rs 7,532 cr for States' disaster response

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The Ministry of Finance has released Rs 7,532 crore on Wednesday among 22 state governments for the respective State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) amid destruction caused due to monsoon in many states of the country.

The amount has been released as per the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs, PTI reported.

In a press release, the finance ministry said the guidelines have been relaxed in the wake of heavy rains across the country, and the funds have been released as immediate assistance to States without waiting for the utilisation certificate of the amount provided to the States in the last financial year.

The Central government contributes 75 per cent to the SDRF in general States and 90 per cent in northeast and Himalayan states.

The annual Central contribution is released in two equal instalments as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission. As per the guidelines, the funds are released on receipt of Utilisation Certificate of the amount released in the earlier instalment and receipt of a report from the State Government on the activities undertaken from SDRF.

The SDRF is to be used only for meeting the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the victims of notified calamities like cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloud burst, pest attack and frost and cold wave.

Allocation of SDRF funds to the States is based on multiple factors like past expenditure, area, population, and disaster risk index. These factors reflect States' institutional capacity, risk exposure, and hazard and vulnerability.

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Based on the 15th Finance Commission recommendations, the Central government has allocated Rs 128,122.40 crore for SDRF for years 2021-22 to 2025-26. Out of this amount, the Central government's share is Rs 98,080.80 crore.

With the current release, the total amount of Central share of SDRF released to the State governments so far has gone up to Rs 42,366 crore. (ANI)