Govt. of India Releases Rs.2000 cr Drought Relief Aid To Maharashtra

24 March, New Delhi

The Union Government has sanctioned 2,000 crore rupees as a relief for the areas affected by drought last year in Maharashtra.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the high-level committee of National Disaster Management, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said in a statement that the amount has been sanctioned by the Committee under National Disaster Response Fund. He said, the approved amount is four times higher than the amount of nearly 500 crore rupees sanctioned in the year 2013.

Maharashtra faced severe drought last year due to poor monsoon, affecting crop yields and drinking water supply.The committee examined the proposals based on the inputs of the central team which visited the affected areas of the State.

The Committee also decided to sanction the required assistance from NDRF to the flood hit Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The Committee examined the proposals, based on the visits of the Central Team to the States affected by severe Natural Disasters during the last year.

During the meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and senior officers of the Ministries were also present.