Himachal Pradesh: Rs 4500 cr special relief package announced by CM Sukhu
SHIMLA: Without getting any special assistance from the Centre, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, on Saturday, announced a Rs 4,500 crore special relief package, raising the compensation company for loss of house, cattle and other properties, including cultivable land upto 25 times.
He announced that all conditions, including minimum income limit has been waived off and all affected families will be given relief and compensations uniformly without making any distinction.
“The state government will be spending a total of Rs 4,500 crore to deal with the disaster, out of which Rs 750 crore will be spent for restoration and rehabilitation, and Rs 1,000 crore for MNREGA,” he announced.
The Chief Minister regretted that while the central leadership of the BJP including party’s national president J P Nadda, has assured to help the state in getting a central relief package, the state leadership was highly insensitive and did not support state government resolution in asking the centre to declare tragedy as National calamity.
Nevertheless, the government has decided to reach out to every single family affected by the relentless rains, floods and landslides, resulting in 481 deaths and completely damaging 3,500 houses and 13,000 partially affected.
Sukhu said a compensation of Rs 1.30 lakh for a completely damaged house has been increased five and a half times to Rs 7 lakh.
Apart from this, the compensation of Rs 4,000 for partial damage to a ‘kutcha’ house has been increased by 25 times to rupees one lakh, while the compensation for partial damage to a ‘pucca’ house has been increased 15 and a half times, from Rs 6,500 to rupees one lakh.
He said that 6,930 kutcha houses and 5,549 pucca houses have been partially damaged in the state.
The state government will provide increased financial assistance of Rs 50 thousand instead of Rs 3,000 for damage to the cowshed.
About 670 shops and dhabas as well as 8,300 cow sheds have been damaged in the state.
The state government will provide an assistance of Rs 50,000 for damage or loss to the belongings of the tenants, thereby marking 20 times increase, from existing Rs 2,500.
The number of such affected people is 1909.
He said that due to the devastation caused by the disaster, 37,899 bighas of agricultural land, 17,947 bighas of horticulture land in Himachal have been damaged while crops of 26,490 bighas have also been damaged.
Apart from this, agricultural and horticultural land in 42 bighas has been damaged due to silt.
The state government would provide two biswa of land in urban areas and three biswa in rural areas for the reconstruction of houses completely damaged by the disaster.
Such families will also be eligible, whose land is no longer habitable. Apart from this there will be no income ceiling for distribution of relief.
The landless disaster affected persons, who have been living in Himachal Pradesh for over a long period of time and desire to live here, will also be provided land under the package.
