Himachal floods: CM urges Centre to release disaster relief fund of ₹315 cr

Since the onset of the monsoon in the hill state on June 24, as many as 138 people have died in rain-related incidents, such as landslides, flash floods, and road accidents, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Response Centre.

Citing the unprecedented flood situation, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday urged the Centre to release Himachal Pradesh’s pending disaster relief fund of ₹315.80 crore at the earliest.

Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The chief minister urged the Centre that funds be released at the earliest as Himachal Pradesh is seeing devastation caused by incessant rains this monsoon. (HT file photo)

Sukhu said that this amount has been withheld for the past few years with ₹121.71 crore allocated for 2020-21, ₹133.56 crore for 2021-22 under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and ₹61.07 crore for 2019-20 under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The delay was attributed to objections raised by the accountant general, which the state government has resolved, he said.

Stating that all objections have been cleared now, the chief minister urged that the funds be released at the earliest as the hill state is witnessing devastation caused by incessant rains and flash floods this monsoon.

Since the onset of the monsoon in the hill state on June 24, as many as 138 people have died in rain-related incidents, such as landslides, flash floods, and road accidents, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Response Centre. The state has suffered a loss of ₹4,986 crore till July 21.