Drought relief for Karna, Puducherry, Arunachal

Rajnath takes decision after high-level meeting

The Centre on Friday approved assistance of Rs 842.7 crore for Karnataka, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been affected by drought or floods. The decision to provide assistance was taken by a high-level committee meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, an official spokesperson said.

The committee examined the proposals based on the report of the central team which visited Karnataka, affected by drought, and Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been hit by floods.

An amount to the tune of Rs 723.23 crore was approved to Karnataka, Rs 35.14 crore was approved for Puducherry and Rs 84.33 crore for Arunachal Pradesh. The central assistance of Rs 84.33 crore to Arunachal Pradesh includes Rs 18 crore under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of the ministries of Home, Finance and Agriculture.

In total, 10 states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have declared drought in their parts. More than Rs 10,000 crore of central assistance has been given to these states to tide over the situation. While Puducherry was hit by floods due to heavy rains in December 2015, Arunachal Pradesh too was affected by floods last year.