The Shah-led panel approves Rs 2,000 crore to rebuild Himachal after flood damage. Note: "Rs" is the abbreviation for Rupees in Indian currency. The amount has been written as "2,000 crore" which is a large number in the Indian numbering system, equivalent to 2 billion (2,000,000,000) in the international numbering system.

NEW DELHI: In a significant move aimed at rebuilding disaster-affected regions in Himachal Pradesh, a high-level committee, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Wednesday approved Rs 2,006.40 crore as central assistance to the state, officials said.

According to them, financial assistance is provided for recovery and reconstruction activities following the devastating floods, landslides, and cloudbursts that hit the state in 2023.

The committee, composed of the Finance Minister, the Agriculture Minister, and the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog as members, considered the proposal for financial assistance to the state under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the officials said.

A senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official said, "The high-powered panel has approved the recovery plan of Rs 2,006.40 crore to Himachal Pradesh, which will help the state in carrying out recovery and reconstruction activities, arisen due to damage and destruction that occurred in 2023 monsoon due to floods, cloudbursts and landslides." According to him the sanctioned fund will comprise of Rs 1,504.80 crore as Central share from recovery and reconstruction funding window under the NDRF. "Earlier, on December 12, 2023, the MHA had approved additional financial assistance of Rs 633.73 crore from the NDRF for the state, which was affected by this disaster," he said.

Later in a statement, the MHA said that the Union government stands shoulder to shoulder with state governments during natural calamities and disasters. It stated that to fulfill Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a disaster-resilient India, the MHA has taken several initiatives to ensure effective management of disasters in the country. It added that numerous steps have been taken to prevent extensive loss of life and property during disasters by strengthening the disaster risk reduction system in India.

The Central government had approved recovery plans for the states of Uttarakhand (Rs 1658.17 crore) in the aftermath of Joshimath subsidence and for Sikkim (Rs 555.27 crore), in the aftermath of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) incident of 2023. In the statement, the MHA said that the Union government had approved a number of mitigation projects with an overall financial outlay of Rs 7,253.51 crore, for mitigating the risks of a number of hazards in the areas of urban floods (Rs 3,075.65 crore), landslides (Rs 1,000 crore), GLOF (Rs 150 crore), forest fire (Rs 818.92 crore), lightning (Rs 186.78 crore), and drought (Rs 2,022.16 crore).

This additional assistance is over and above the funds released by the center to states in the State Disaster Response Fund, already placed at the disposal of the states, it added.