The Centre on Friday approved an additional assistance of Rs 128.23 crore to Odisha to meet the losses caused by Cyclone Amphan that had hit the State in May this year.
Earlier in May, the Centre had sanctioned Rs 500 crore to the State under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for quick relief activities.
Notably, the State Government, post cyclone Amphan, had sought a Rs 20,000-crore package for creation of disaster-resilient infrastructures as the State is frequently ravaged by natural calamities like cyclones and floods.
On Friday, a High-Level Committee (HLC) meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved additional Central assistance of Rs 4,381.88 crore to six States, including Odisha, affected by cyclones, floods and landslides this year.
For cyclone Amphan, Rs.128.23 crore was approved for Odisha and Rs 2,707.77 for West Bengal.
In the aftermath of Amphan, Prime Minister Modi had visited both Odisha and West Bengal on May 22. As announced by him, financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to West Bengal and Rs 500 crore to Odisha were released in advance on May 23 for immediate relief activities in the two States.
In addition, the PM had also announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured, which was over and above the ex-gratia provided through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the NDRF.