Centre sanctions Rs 7,214 cr as relief for damage by natural disasters; Maharashtra gets Rs 4,714 crore

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday approved the release of Rs 7,214 crore to six states and a Union Territory, including Rs 4,714 crore to Maharashtra, for floods, drought and cyclone damage. A statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said a high-level committee, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, sanctioned the additional central assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) of Rs 7,214.03 crore to six states and one Union Territory. [caption id=“attachment_4426761” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Among the sanctioned amount, Rs 4,714.28 crore will be given to Maharashtra (drought), Rs 949.49 crore to Karnataka (drought), Rs 900.4 crore to Andhra Pradesh (drought), Rs 317.44 crore to Himachal Pradesh (flood and landslides), Rs 191.73 crore to Uttar Pradesh (flood), Rs 127.60 crore to Gujarat (drought) and Rs 13.09 crore to UT of Puducherry (cyclone). The meeting was held here to consider the additional central assistance to these six states and one UT, which were affected by floods, landslides, cloudburst and cyclone Gaja and drought during kharif season 2018-19, the statement said. Union Finance Minister Piyush Goel, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and senior officers of the ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Agriculture and NITI Aayog were present in the meeting.