Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Monday announced an initial assistance package of Rs 110 crore for flood-affected people as the state government launched a survey to assess the damage caused by the calamity in which at least six people were killed and 3,567 houses damaged.
Stating that the state government was fully with the affected people, Majhi directed officials to undertake rehabilitation and restoration work on a war footing and ensure that funds reach eligible families without delay based on preliminary assessments. He said the comprehensive support will be announced after the final survey of damage caused by the ongoing floods.
As per the decision of the Chief Minister, Gratuitous Relief (GR) will be provided to all eligible beneficiaries and families in the flood-affected areas, and this assistance will continue till normalcy returns, an official said.
“The state government stands rock-solid with every affected family,” a statement released by the CMO said, adding that flood response, rescue, relief and rehabilitation remain the administration’s highest priority.
Earlier, the government had already released Rs 26 crore as advance funds for immediate relief and rescue work. The new package will cover house damage, crop loss and livestock deaths under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, it said.
Meanwhile, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said a joint survey by the Revenue and Agriculture departments has been launched in the flood-affected areas from where water has receded completely. The survey teams will assess house damage, human casualty and livestock and crop losses.
The minister said that the families whose houses have been completely damaged will receive compensation of up to Rs 1.2 lakh each. Those with partially damaged ‘pucca’ houses will be given Rs 6,500, and for ‘kutcha’ houses, the compensation will be Rs 4,000, while households with fully damaged huts will receive Rs 8,000 each.
Similarly, Rs 3,000 will be given for damage to animal sheds in the flood-affected areas, he said, adding that as per an initial estimate, about 33,458.30 hectares of agricultural land has been affected.
Pujari also announced compensation for agricultural losses. Farmers who lost crops on rain-fed land will receive Rs 8,500 per hectare, while the compensation would be Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated land, and Rs 22,500 per hectare for perennial crops, he said.
The CMO statement said that the floods have impacted 8,63,909 people across 22 districts, affecting 1,458 villages in 85 blocks. As per norms, Rs 4 lakh compensation each (total Rs 24 lakh) would be provided to the next of kin of six persons who died in the deluge as per the Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) rules.
The minister said the mother of a fireman who died during flood relief will get Rs 1.05 crore towards his insurance and other benefits received by government employees upon their death while on duty.
To further strengthen the rescue and relief operations, a total of 190 teams comprising 20 from ODRAF, 7 NDRF teams and 172 of the fire service are continuously working in the affected districts.
The government also claimed that the relief, rescue and rehabilitation operations are continuing on a war footing in the worst flood-affected Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts.