Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday constituted a Cabinet Committee to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
Defence Minister AK Antony, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Road Transport Minister Oscar Fernandes, law Minister Kapil Sibal, Housing Minister Girija Vyas, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat are the members of the committee chaired by Singh.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and National Disaster Management Authority Vice-Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy are the permanent invitees.
The committee will provide broad guidance to reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Uttarakhand, and take such decisions, as may be required, said a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat. Singh has announced Rs 1,000 crore for disaster relief measures in flood-devastated parts of Uttarakhand.
Apart from the package of Rs 1,000 crore announced by Singh, the Government expects Rs 2,500 to 3,000 crore more from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for the reconstruction and rebuilding efforts.