Assam floods damaged 30,000 to 40,000 houses, says CM Himanta

As many as 30,000 to 40,000 houses were damaged in Assam due to the recent massive floods, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said seeking an advance fund from the NDRF to help the affected people.

Sarma conveyed this to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting here on Friday evening and sought central help.

The chief minister briefed the home minister that around 30,000 to 40,000 houses were damaged by the deluge, an official statement said on Saturday.

Sarma requested Shah to release an advance amount from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the rehabilitation of the flood-hit people whose houses were severely or fully damaged.

Later, talking to journalists, Sarma said since Assam's flood has been labelled "severe" by a central team, which made an assessment of the flood situation, he sought an advance fund from the NDRF to enable the state to help the people whose houses were damaged by the deluge.

"The Centre's door is always open. There is no dearth of funds. Whatever we present legally and logically we will get the required funds," he said.

The chief minister said the home minister assured him that the Union home ministry would actively consider his request for immediate release of the advance fund from the NDRF.

Sarma said the state government will give an actual picture of the extent of damage caused by the floods so that it gets the exact funds instead of asking for packages.

He said the target of the government will be to make full utilisation of the State Disaster Response Fund, so that the state gets the NDRF as well as additional funds.

It may be mentioned that the Centre had released Rs 324.40 crore as the state share of the SDRF for 2022-23 as immediate assistance to the Assam government to combat the current floods, the statement said.