Rs 132 cr earmarked for flood-damaged houses; Dispur plans to disburse DBT grant before August 15

Guwahati: The state government has taken the unprecedented step of earmarking a tentative corpus of Rs 132 crore for providing Rehabilitation Grant (RG) to the people whose house were damaged either fully or partially in the recent waves of floods in Assam.

This figure may, however, fluctuate somewhat after all the cross-verification reports are received from the 17 teams of ministers, senior IAS officers and their subordinate officers regarding damage caused to houses by flood in various districts. It may be recalled that the respective Deputy Commissioners had already prepared lists of eligible beneficiaries whose houses had been fully or partially damaged by flood in various districts. However, as per the Chief Minister's directive separate teams comprising one minister, one IAS officer and 50 officials carried out field visits in various districts to cross-verify the extent of damage.

It is pertinent to mention that the government has already spent around Rs 76 crore as gratuitous relief (GR) for providing utensils and clothes to the flood-affected people. This GR was provided via direct benefit transfer (DBT) of Rs 3,800 for each flood-affected family. This quantum of GR is unparalleled in Assam.

Talking to The Sentinel, Assam's Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Jogen Mohan said that the cross-verification process has been completed by the 17 teams constituted by the Chief Minister. Only a few reports remain to be submitted with regard to some districts, he said. He further informed that the state government is planning to release the RG through DBT mode before August 15, and added that bank account details of all probable beneficiaries have been already collected.

Asked about whether any discrepancy has been found during the cross-verification process with regard to the initial lists prepared by the DCs, Mohan said that his responsibility was the Baksa district and only one proposed beneficiary was rejected there, while a few new beneficiaries were added to the list.

It may be mentioned that as per SDRF guidelines, beneficiaries are entitled to RG of Rs 95,100 for fully damaged houses (both pucca and kutcha) in plains areas, Rs 1,01,900 for fully damaged houses in hilly areas. Similarly, beneficiaries are entitled to RG of Rs 5,200 for partially damaged houses. While this provision has been existence since long, its implementation had hitherto left a lot to be desired.

Also read: 27 Pension Seva Kendras inaugurated in state; Move aimed at streamlining pension process, says CM

Also watch: