india

Updated: Aug 21, 2019 00:33 IST

The Centre has decided to constitute inter-ministerial central teams (IMCTs) to visit 11 states to assess the damage caused by the recent floods.

The decision was taken at a meeting of a high-level committee headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will immediately constitute and depute IMCTs to Assam, Meghalya, Tripura, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala as these states have been affected by recent floods, an official statement said.

In a significant departure from the existing practice of deputing an IMCT after the receipt of memorandum from the state in the wake of any severe calamity, the government has decided to constitute the teams immediately in the aftermath of any natural calamity of severe nature, which will visit the affected areas in the state so as to have first-hand assessment of damages caused and relief work carried out by the state administration.

The Centre also approved an additional assistance of over Rs 4,432 crore to Odisha, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh for damage caused by natural calamities during the last financial year.

In a statement, the home ministry said the committee has approved additional central assistance of Rs 3,338.22 crore to Odisha for the damage caused by cyclone Fani, Rs 1029.39 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64.49 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorms in 2018-19.

The funds will be disbursed from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

Meanwhile, water started receding in many places in Punjab and Haryana with no fresh spell of rainfall on Tuesday, as teams of the army and the NDRF continued to carry out rescue operations.

Chief minister Amarinder Singh said: “The state administration is fully geared to meet any eventuality and will safeguard the lives of the people at all costs.”

With rise in the Yamuna river in Haryana after release of 8.28 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar, the state authorities in Haryana said river water would reach Delhi by Tuesday evening and the Delhi government had already been alerted about this.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar directed all the deputy commissioners of the affected districts to make necessary arrangements to deal with any adverse situation caused by rising water level in the Yamuna.

The weather remained dry in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

State agriculture minister Ram Lal Markanda was on Tuesday airlifted to capital Shimla from tribal district Lahaul and Spiti.

Talking to mediapersons outside the state Assembly, Markanda said chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had sent his helicopter to airlift him so that he could attend the ongoing monsoon session.

Markanda was stranded in the tribal district due to untimely snowfall.

At least 150 persons are still stuck there and will hopefully be rescued by Wednesday morning, the MLA said, adding that almost all the roads in the district have been damaged.

(With agency inputs)