A High-Level Committee (HLC), chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved ₹3,027.86 crore for disaster mitigation projects across various states.
The committee, which includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog as members, reviewed proposals for mitigation projects related to lightning safety in 50 lightning-prone districts across 10 states, as well as catalytic assistance for 49 drought-prone districts in 12 states, all to be funded from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), according to an official statement.
The committee approved a project for catalytic assistance to the 12 most drought-prone states at a total cost of ₹2,022.16 crore, with the central share being ₹1,200 crore.
The 12 states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
Additionally, the committee approved a mitigation project focused on lightning safety in 10 states, with a total outlay of ₹186.78 crore. The states covered are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The committee also approved a scheme for forest fire risk management, targeting 144 high-priority districts across 19 states, with a total outlay of ₹818.92 crore.
The central share from the NDMF and NDRF will be ₹690.63 crore. The main goal of this scheme is to transform forest fire management in India by strengthening and supporting critical forest fire prevention and mitigation activities.
The states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttarakhand will submit proposals to undertake activities related to forest fire mitigation, preparedness for forest fire response, and post-fire assessment and recovery.
To fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a disaster-resilient India, the Ministry of Home Affairs, under the guidance of the Home Minister, has implemented several initiatives aimed at enhancing disaster management in the country, the statement said.
The Modi government has taken multiple steps to minimise the loss of life and property during disasters by strengthening the disaster risk reduction system in India.
Prior to these proposals, the HLC had approved financial assistance from the NDMF for other projects, including urban flood risk mitigation in seven major cities with a total outlay of ₹3,075.65 crore, GLOF risk management in four states with a total outlay of ₹150 crore, and landslide risk mitigation in 15 states with a total outlay of ₹1,000 crore.
Furthermore, over ₹24,981 crore has already been released to states during the current financial year. This includes ₹17,479.60 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to 27 states, ₹4,808.30 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to 18 states, ₹1,973.55 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 13 states, and ₹719.72 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to 8 states, the statement added.
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