Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF), an amount of Rs 61.82 crore has been approved for 32 projects of PWD (roads), Irrigation, Soil Conservation departments in the state, and CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat.
Before the enforcement of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha election, the 50th State Executive (SEC) meeting of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) was held as per Government of India guidelines. The newly-introduced SDMF is part of the SDRF.
The funding pattern of amounts under the SDRF is 90:10, with 90% provided by the Centre and 10% by the state. Of the 32 projects approved for the state, the highest of 24 projects have been sanctioned for the PWD (roads) department, with an amount of Rs 19.75 crore. The Irrigation department comes in second in terms of project allocation, with six projects worth Rs 1.56 crore. Moreover, Rs. 40 crore has been approved for the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research—North East Institute of Science and Technology (CSIR-NEIST), Jorhat. An amount of Rs 50 lakh has also been allocated for a project in the Soil Conservation department under SDMF.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) has made provision of funds for the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) in its recommendations, which have been accepted by the Government of India. Keeping in view the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, the Government of India has framed guidelines for the administration of SDMF at the state level.
The State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) is constituted under Section 48(1)(c) of the DM Act, 2005. This fund is exclusively for the purpose of mitigation projects in respect of disasters covered under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) guidelines and state-specific local disasters notified by the state governments. The Mitigation Fund shall be used for those local-level and community-based interventions that reduce the risks and promote environment-friendly settlements and livelihood practices. However, large-scale mitigation interventions such as the construction of coastal walls, flood embankments, support for drought resilience, etc. shall be pursued through regular development schemes and not from the mitigation fund.
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