Natural Calamities: Odisha Demands Rs 38,094 Crore Central Assistance, But Gets Rs 4,572 Crore in Last 19 Years

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government had demanded a total of Rs 38,094.51 crore from the Centre for relief and restoration works during different natural disasters in the past 19 years, but the State has received a meager Rs 4,572.97 crore.

The figures have been revealed by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marandi in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Thursday while replying to a question of BJP MLA Mohan Chandra Majhi over disaster funds released by the Centre for Odisha since 2000.

Odisha has sought financial assistance from the Centre under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) for natural calamities like cyclones (Hudhud, Phailin, Titli and Fani), hailstorms and floods that caused massive damages in the State from 2000 to 2019.

As per the damage assessment report, Odisha had incurred a loss of Rs 9,336.27 crore due to the severe cyclone storm Fani that hit the State in May this year, the Minister said.

The Odisha Government has sought an assistance of Rs 5227.68 crore from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation work post Fani. However, the Centre has released only 788.88 crore from the NDRF to Odisha, he said.