GOVT TO ASSESS FLOOD DAMAGE IN STATES ON ITS OWN, SAYS SHAH

PANAJI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Centre will send its own teams to the flood -affected areas without waiting for reports from respective states to assess the damage caused by the natural calamity.

Shah expressed concern for the flood victims in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa He requested the states to quickly assess the damage caused by the recent floods and send their requirement to the Centre.

Shah was speaking at the 24th meeting of the Western Zonal Council, a forum for the Centre and states to exchange ideas on issues like health, security and social welfare, here.

The meeting was attended by chief ministers of Gujarat (Vijay Rupani), Maharashtra (Devendra Fadnavis), Goa (Pramod Sawant) and representatives of Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

He said the Centre has taken an initiative to assess the flood damage on its own.

“As part of the initiative, central teams have been constituted to visit the flood-affected areas without waiting for reports from the respective states,” Shah said.

He said the Western Zone has been instrumental in giving an impetus to the Indian economy. States and Union Territories falling under this zone contribute around 24 per cent to the national GDP and 45 per cent to the total exports of the country.

The Western Zonal Council, one of the five such bodies, comprises the states of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.