Guwahati: A high-level committee (HLC), under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved Rs. 3027.86 crore for disaster mitigation projects for several states.
The committee, which includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog as members, reviewed proposals for mitigation projects related to lightning safety in 50 lightning-prone districts across 10 states, as well as catalytic assistance for 49 drought-prone districts in 12 states.
All projects will be funded by the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).
The Committee has approved a project for catalytic assistance to the 12 most drought-prone states at a total outlay of Rs 2022.16 crore, out of which the Central share will be Rs 1200 crore.
These 12 states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
Besides, the committee also approved a mitigation project focused on lightning safety in 10 states, with a total outlay of Rs 186.78 crore.
The states covered are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Union Home Minister has also approved the Mitigation Scheme for Forest Fire Risk Management for implementation in 144 high-priority districts in 19 states at a total outlay of Rs. 818.92 crores, out of which central share from NDMF and NDRF will be Rs 690.63 crore.
The primary objective of the scheme will be to implement a mitigation project for transforming the forest fire management approach in the country by strengthening and supporting critical forest fire prevention and mitigation activities.
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The states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttarakhand will submit proposals to undertake activities related to forest fire mitigation, preparedness for forest fire response, and post-fire assessment and recovery.
