2 days Ago By Bharti Jain
Representative image NEW DELHI: A high-level committee chaired by home minister Amit Shah has approved projects worth over Rs 1600 crore for expansion and modernisation of fire services in the five states of Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Kerala. Also, the committee -- which also comprises the finance minister, agriculture minister and NITI Aayog vice-chairman -- cleared financial assistance of Rs 555.7 crore for Sikkim for disaster recovery and reconstruction needs of various sectors affected by the devastating glacial lake outburst floods that had occured in the downstream along Teesta river basin in October 2023.
The aid will flow from the recovery and reconstruction funding window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Of the Rs 1,604.4 crore projects and activities approved under the scheme 'Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services in the States', those worth Rs 340.
9 crore are in Bihar, worth Rs 339.2 crore to Gujarat, Rs 148 crore to Jharkhand, Rs 162.3 crore to Kerala and Rs 614.
1 crore to Maharashtra. The Centre had earlier approved proposals of 20 states, worth a total Rs 3373 crore, under the Rs 5,000-crore scheme for expansion and modernisation of fire services in the states. Focused on fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a disaster-resilient India, the home ministry has taken several steps to strengthen the country's disaster risk reduction system.
These include extending financial assistance to the states from the state disaster response fund (SDRF). In the current financial year, the Centre has released a total Rs 19,075 crore to 28 states under SDRF and Rs 3229 crore to 16 states under the state disaster mitigation fund (SDMF). Also, Rs 5,161 crore has been released to 19 states under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and Rs 719.
7 crore to 8 states under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF). Stay updated with the latest India news , weather , and Air Quality Index (AQI) updates for major cities like Delhi , Mumbai , Noida , and Bangalore on Times of India ..
