Bengal govt releases Rs 1,444 cr for Amphan relief
Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government released Rs 1,444 crore against an initial estimate of Rs 1,350 crore, providing help to more than 30.5 lakh people by directly transferring benefits to the bank accounts of those residing in the Amphan-affected districts.
With the state simultaneously combating both COVID-19 and Amphan aftermath, the release of the whopping Rs 1,444 crore has been made possible by the Bengal government in just three days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced an immediate package of Rs 6,250 crore on Friday.
The Chief Minister tweeted on Tuesday: "I'm happy to share that the Government of West Bengal has transferred funds to nearly 5 lakh affected people for repairing their homes, released crop damage assistance to 23.3 lakh farmers, apart from 2 lakh betel farmers. We have released Rs 1,444 crore so far, against an initial estimate of Rs 1350 crore."
After a preliminary assessment, Banerjee had decided to ensure direct transfer of funds to bank accounts of beneficiaries so that they can carry out reconstruction work on an immediate basis. Following her directions, both the state and district administrations had gone all-out in implementing the same. As a result, most of those affected have received their benefits in just three days.
She further stated in her tweet: "While fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Bengal witnessed a super cyclone Amphan, the fiercest storm in our recent memory. From the destruction of dwelling houses and physical infrastructure to disruption of fisheries and agriculture, the devastation has been unprecedented. However, through the resilience of Bengal and its people, along with a determined effort by the Government of West Bengal machinery, we have been able to kickstart major relief and rehabilitation work for the distressed, with an immediate announcement of a Rs 6,250 Cr package as first tranche."
On Friday itself, benefits were directly transferred to the bank accounts of 1 lakh people whose houses or crops were damaged in the 16 cyclone-affected districts. In the next two days, the same has been ensured for the remaining 29.5 lakh people.
According to a senior official at Nabanna, preparing a list of the affected people by ensuring a field visit, gathering their details including that of a bank account and at the same time transferring the amount was a mammoth task. "At the same time, it has been carried out when the administrative officials and police are also working to check the spread of the virus," the official added.
The Chief Minister had directed to carry out the work of assessment and reconstruction simultaneously to help people to repair their damaged houses at the earliest. The reason is more than 10 lakh houses were destroyed, crops on more than 10.5 lakh hectare of land and above 1 lakh betel vines were damaged and 160 km of embankments were washed away. Following the Chief Minister's directions, work of reconstructing damaged embankments is going on in full swing to avoid the situation to further turn worse during the next high tide.
