Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday released interim flood relief of Rs 47.93 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 31,951 flood-affected families in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.
Each eligible family received Rs 15,000 as interim assistance. The latest disbursement benefited 22,657 families in Sivasagar, 6,028 in Charaideo, 2,324 in Jorhat and 942 in Golaghat. The funds were released at a programme held at Lok Sewa Bhawan.
With the latest disbursement, the Assam government has provided a total of Rs 146.26 crore in interim assistance to 96,842 flood-affected families across the four districts.
Earlier, on August 4, the government had transferred Rs 97.34 crore through DBT to 64,891 affected families at the rate of Rs 15,000 per family. This followed the disbursement of Rs 2,500 each to beneficiaries under the Orunodoi Scheme in the four districts.
Speaking at the programme, Chief Minister Sarma said the government was continuing to provide all necessary support to help flood-affected people return to normal life. He said the process of providing interim relief was now almost complete, although verification of records relating to nearly 3,000 affected families in Sivasagar was still underway. Eligible families would receive the assistance after verification.
Sarma said a detailed survey to assess flood-related damages had already begun, with 1,144 teachers engaged in the exercise. Preliminary data has so far recorded 2,681 completely damaged houses, 18,887 cattle sheds, nearly 41,000 handloom assets and more than 5.98 lakh livestock affected across the four districts. Crop damage involving 99,256 farmers has also been reported.
The Chief Minister said the ongoing survey was expected to be completed by the end of August. The findings would be uploaded on a dedicated portal so that affected people could examine the records and submit grievances or objections. A second round of verification and surveys would be conducted from early September until September 10-11, with the final list of damages expected to be published by September 15.
He said the government aimed to transfer further financial assistance directly to affected families through DBT by November, based on the findings of the rapid surveys. Damage reports estimated at around Rs 480 crore have been received so far.
The government will also facilitate house construction for flood-affected beneficiaries eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Steps have been initiated to repair schools, Anganwadi centres, Namghars and other public institutions damaged by the floods.
Sarma said the process of providing Rs 9 lakh in compensation to the next of kin of those who died in the floods was continuing. He added that 1,712 flood-affected people had already benefited from the relief measures announced for repayment of bank loan instalments, with applications remaining open until August 31.
A total of 1,598 insurance claims have so far been filed by flood-affected people, of which 170 have already been settled.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Keshab Mahanta, Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu, Women and Child Development Minister Ajanta Neog, Water Resources Minister Sushanta Borgohain, Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture Minister Biswajit Daimary, Finance Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah, Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department L.S. Changsan and other senior officials were present at the programme.