Himachal govt enhances relief aid for disaster-hit families

The compensation enhancement on July 17 covered damage to houses, dhabas, shops, and agriculture and horticulture lands.

In a relief to the victims of the recent landslides, flash floods and cloudburst triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government Monday enhanced the compensation for several categories.

“Financial assistance will be provided to the families affected by landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts which occurred from July 7 to 15, under special norms”, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in a statement issued here.

Sukhu had announced assistance of Rs 1 lakh to affected families on July 11, saying the government will make changes to the relief manual for enhancing the relief aid.

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According to the manual, each disaster victim is granted Rs 5,000 as an aid at present.

The compensation enhancement on Monday covered damage to houses, dhabas, shops, and agriculture and horticulture lands.

In view of the unprecedented tragedy, the financial aid of Rs 12,500 and Rs 10,000 for partial damage to pucca and kutcha houses respectively has been increased to Rs one lakh, Sukhu said.

Financial assistance for damage to shops and dhabas has been raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh and compensation for damage to the goods of tenants has been increased from Rs. 25,000 to Rs 50,000, the statement said.

The government has also enhanced the compensation for damage to agriculture and horticulture land in various categories, according to the statement.

With a total of 56 landslides and 43 flash floods ravaging the state since the onset of monsoon on June 24, Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses totalling around Rs 4,636 crore.

As many as 490 houses have been completely damaged, while 4,146 houses and 133 shops got partially damaged.