Naveen Patnaik on Saturday interacted with the Collectors of 30 districts about timely disbursal of the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) and the newly introduced Harischandra Sahayata to the needy. Patnaik interacted with the District Collectors over the matter through video conferencing on Saturday. Patnaik said that the scheme would be implemented from August 15 and a total of Rs 15 crore had already been provided to 30 districts for the purpose. Three districts would be awarded for best performance in implementing the scheme, he said.
Patnaik advised all the Collectors to provide financial assistance to the deserving poor and distressed people from CMRF on humanitarian ground. A Sarpanch in rural areas and chairman of an urban local body can provide Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 to the victim family for funeral rights. Each gram panchayat and NAC would get Rs 20,000 and Rs 60,000 respectively as annual grant for the scheme, while a municipality would be given Rs 1 lakh and municipal corporation Rs 3 lakh each annually, said sources.