Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 31: The Centre has decided to provide Rs 500 crore to the state in the first phase of assistance for the devastation caused by last year’s cyclonic storm Hudhud.
A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union ministries of home and finance Friday. Apart from Orissa, the other states that will get financial assistance for natural calamities are Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.
Several districts of the state were affected by Hudhud that hit coastal Orissa October 12, 2014. The state government had sought `777.12-crore assistance from the Centre towards relief and rehabilitation.
An eight-member inter-ministerial panel from Centre had visited the affected districts November 18 last year and held discussions with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in this regard. The team had submitted its assessment report to the Centre.
Besides, members of Parliamentary standing committee on home affairs had visited the cyclone-affected districts January 10 and conducted an assessment of the damage.
