State estimates ₹1,300-crore aid for families hit by cyclone Nisarga

The Maharashtra government estimates that the relief package for families hit by cyclone Nisarga will be around ₹1,300 crore, said relief and rehabilitation minister

The Maharashtra government estimates that the relief package for families hit by cyclone Nisarga will be around ₹1,300 crore, said relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday. The cyclone that made landfall in Raigad district on June 4 caused considerable damage in Raigad and adjoining districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who chaired a review meeting on the damage assessment along with deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar, said that additional relief would be given to cyclone-hit families in the region at the earliest.

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Wadettiwar, who was present in the meeting held via video-conference, said the state government is assessing the total damage in the belt on a war footing.

“We estimate that the compensation amount to be around ₹1,200 crore to ₹1,300 crore. The overall damage assessment is still going on,” he said. He added that the relief package amount has been increased to more than double of what was announced earlier. The government has made slabs for damages to properties and fixed an amount.

“We have created different slabs. For homes that are damaged up to 15%, earlier it was ₹6,000 plus ₹5,000 for loss of material, including clothes and utensils. Now, this has been increased to ₹15,000 and additional ₹10,000 for loss of material items. Similarly, for 25% damage to homes, its ₹25,000 and ₹10,000, and for 50% damage, the relief package is ₹50,000 and ₹10,000,” he said. He added cyclone-hit families, whose houses have fully collapsed, will be given ₹1.5 lakh instead of ₹95,100 as per the existing National Disaster Response Fund norms.

A statement from the chief minister’s office said that the relief will reach the last person. “A government resolution (GR) to provide additional relief to cyclone-hit families will be issued at the earliest and the disbursal of the compensation will commence immediately.”

Wadettiwar added that the department has sanctioned an additional ₹370 crore to the Konkan Divisional commissioner to start the distribution of the compensation. The state has already announced an immediate relief of ₹100 crore for Raigad, Rs75 crore for Ratnagiri and Rs25 crore for Sindhudurg.

The minister said that ₹24 crore has been earmarked for the 1,470 government schools that are damaged in the cyclone in the meeting held on Wednesday. For private schools in the area, the state government would provide up to Rs2 lakh, Wadettiwar said.