Min lashes out at Centre for giving less funds against assessment report of losses

Kolkata: State Disaster Management and Civil Defence minister Javed Ahmed Khan lashed out at the Centre for giving much less funds against the assessment report of losses sent to the Centre due to natural calamities in the state.

“We had sent a requisition of over Rs 35000 crore following NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) norms against damages due to the severe cyclonic storm Amphan (that had hit the state in May 2020) but the Centre has given only Rs 2250 crore. We had made an estimate and asked for Rs 7317 crore from the Centre against losses incurred due to Bulbul (that hit in November 2019). However, the Centre disbursed only Rs 958.33 crore. This bears testimony to the fact that the Central government hardly has any humane approach for the people of Bengal,” Khan said during the question answer session at the state Assembly on Friday.

BJP MLA from Kurseong Bishnu Prasad Sharma said that he has received information from the Centre that the state has not yet sent an assessment report in connection with the flash floods in the Hills that took place in October 2023. He claimed to take it up with the Centre once he got the assessment report.

Khan retorted saying that the state has already made an estimate and sent a report to the Centre. The Speaker asked the minister to handover the report to Sharma.

As per report presented in the state Assembly by Khan, there have been 951 natural calamities across the state from the period of January 2021 to October 2023 with 1207 people declared dead. The next of kin of 1104 of these people have already been provided with financial assistance.