Center releases disaster relief funds for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
- April 28, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Center releases disaster relief funds for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Subject: Polity
Sec: National Body
Context:
- The Union government has ordered the release of ₹3,730.32 crore towards “relief assistance for natural calamity” from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
More on news:
- An order by the Finance Ministry said that the amount is being released to the State governments based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on April 24.
- For the damage caused by Cyclone Michaung in December 2023 and the floods later in the month in southern Tamil Nadu, the MHA approved an assistance of ₹285.54 crore and ₹397.13 crore respectively.
About State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF):
- SDRF has been constituted by each state under the provisions of Disaster Management act 2005.
- It was constituted based on the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.
- The government of India contributes 75% and 90% of the total yearly allocation of SDRF to general states and special category states respectively.
- The state executive committee headed by the Chief Secretary is authorized to decide on all matters relating to the financing of the relief expenditure from the SDRF.
- Disaster (s) covered under SDRF: Cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold waves.
- The SDRF is the primary fund available with State governments as part of their response to notified disasters to meet expenditure on providing immediate relief to victims.
- The Centre contributes 75% of the SDRF allocation for general category States and Union Territories and 90% for special category States (northeastern States, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir).
- As per Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the NDRF supplements the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) in case of a disaster of severe nature, provided adequate funds are not available in the SDRF.
- The States have to submit utilization certificates, pending which no future allocation is made.
About National Disaster Response Fund:
- Defined under sec 46 of Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act).
- It is a fund managed by the Central Government for meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation due to any threatening disaster situation or disaster.
- Constituted to supplement the funds of the State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) of the states to facilitate immediate relief in case of calamities of a severe nature.
- National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) was renamed as National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) with the enactment of the Disaster Management Act in 2005.