Home Minister Amit Shah approved release of funds to help state governments tackle any disasters. (File)
The Centre has approved the release of the second installment of its share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), amounting to Rs 7,274.40 crore to 23 states in advance.
The decision was taken by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as part of the Centre's initiative to facilitate state governments to have enough funds in their SDRF to tackle any emergencies that may arise out of a disaster. According to a Union home ministry statement, the second installment has already been released to five states in advance, amounting to Rs 1,599.20 crore.
The central government had issued an order on September 25, revising the items and norms of assistance under the SDRF, making a provision for granting compensation to the families of people who died as a result of COVID-19. This enabling provision in the SDRF norms has been made so as to implement the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on September 11, in compliance with the order passed by the Supreme Court on June 30.
Mr Shah has approved the release, in advance, of the second installment of the central share of the SDRF to 23 states, amounting to a total of Rs 7,274.40 crore, the statement said. During the financial year 2021-22, the state governments will now have an amount of Rs 23,186.40 crore in their SDRF, including the state's share, in addition to the opening balance already available in their SDRF. This amount is to be used to provide compensation to the families of those who died due to Covid, and for providing relief on other notified calamities, it said.