Finance commission proposes ₹14,246 crore for Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: The 15th Finance Commission has made a proposal to provide a total of Rs 14,246 crore to Uttar Pradesh for disaster management in the next five years.

With this amount, the state government will now be able to make better arrangements to deal with all types of natural calamities, including extreme precipitation (rain, hail) and floods, famines and droughts, fire outbreaks, earthquakes, unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms, said a state government spokesperson.

Uttar Pradesh’s effectiveness and preparedness in dealing with severe disasters in last four years under Yogi Adityanath government has been acknowledged after years as the centre’s allocation of the State Disaster Response Management Fund has significantly increased, the spokesperson said

According to the information received from the officials of the Department of Revenue, on the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission, the state had received a total of Rs 3,729 crore in five years between the financial years 2015-16 to 2019-20. Now, the 15th Finance Commission has recommended funds four times more than the previous allocated amount, the spokesperson said.

In its decision, the 15th Finance Commission has approved a sum of Rs 2,578 crore for FY 2021-22, Rs 2,707 crore for the FY 2022-23, Rs 2,842 crore for FY 2023-24, Rs 2,985 crore for FY 2024-25 and Rs 3,134 crore for the FY 2025-26.

As informed by the officials, the 15th Finance Commission has decided the allocation of funds for Uttar Pradesh by assessing the risk from natural disasters, such as, floods, droughts, cyclones and earthquakes, etc, said the spokesperson.

Uttar Pradesh will be provided the maximum amount as the Disaster Response Fund after Maharashtra which will get a total of Rs 23, 737 crore in five years.

Apart from this, Rs 13,411 crore will be given to Madhya Pradesh, Rs 11,819 crore to Orissa, Rs 10,913 crore to Rajasthan and a total of Rs 10,432 crore will be given to Bihar.

According to the officials of the Department of Revenue, the Centre and State’s share in disaster risk management will remain the same as before in the ratio of 75:25. The Central government will give Rs 10,685 crore to UP in the next five years, while the UP government will contribute Rs 3,561 crore to it, the spokesperson said.

On chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s initiative, the state government is working in a phased manner to get rid of the flood menace permanently and increase the irrigation potential of the fields.