E-Paper
Govt approves release of ₹7,274 cr to 23 states as central share of SDRF
The Union ministry of home affairs said that the money will facilitate state governments to have enough funds in their SDRF to meet expenses on granting ex gratia to next of kin of deceased due to Covid-19.
In a bid to assist the kin of those who died due to Covid-19, the Centre on Friday released ₹7,274.40 crore as the second installment of its share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to 23 states, the Union ministry of home affairs said in a press release.
The Union ministry of home affairs said that the money will facilitate state governments to have enough funds in their SDRF to meet expenses on granting ex gratia to next of kin of deceased due to Covid-19.
“Union minister of Home Affairs and minister of cooperation Amit Shah has approved release of the 2nd instalment of the central share of the SDRF amounting to ₹7,274.40 crore, in advance, to 23 states. Five states have already been released, in advance, the 2nd instalment amounting to ₹1,599.20 crore,” the release said.
The Centre said that this has enabled the provision in the SDRF norms to be 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.
The government said the decision was taken as part of the government's initiative to facilitate state governments to have enough funds in their SDRF to deal with any emergency arising out of any disaster, according to the release.
The Centre said that the state governments will now have ₹23,186.40 crore in their SDRF, including the share of the state government, during the financial year 2021-22. This is in addition to the amount of opening balance available in their SDRF.
It said that the expenses will cover for providing relief on other notified calamities as well along with payouts to Covid-19 victims.
