Himachal Cabinet grants special relief package for disaster-hit families

Shimla, July 28 The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, on Monday granted a special relief package for the disaster-affected families.

Under the package, the compensation for a completely damaged house has been increased to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 1.30 lakh, a hike of five times. Besides, the compensation for a partially damaged house has been enhanced to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 12,500. Also, the compensation for a damaged shop or ‘dhaba’ has been enhanced 10 times to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 10,000.

The government will also provide an increased financial assistance of Rs 50,000 instead of Rs 10,000 for the damaged cowsheds. It will also offer assistance of Rs 50,000 for damage or loss of belongings of tenants, whereas the owner will receive Rs 70,000 for the loss of belongings. A sum of Rs 55,000 per animal will be granted for the loss of large milch animals, while the compensation for the loss of goat, pig, sheep and lamb has been increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 9,000 per animal.

Besides, the government will provide Rs 25,000 as compensation for the fully damaged poly-houses and Rs 50,000 for the desilting of houses. The government will also give compensation of Rs 10,000 per bigha for the loss of agriculture and horticulture land, raising it from Rs 3,900 per bigha. For de-silting activities, the government enhanced the compensation from Rs 1,500 per bigha to Rs 6,000 per bigha. The government also increased the compensation for loss of crops from Rs 500 per bigha to Rs 3,000 per bigha.

The Cabinet expressed grief over the loss of lives caused by the disaster across the state. It expressed gratitude to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Indian Army, the police, Home Guards, NGOs, and other individuals who extended support in carrying out relief and rehabilitation efforts.

The Cabinet also condemned the incident of misbehaviour with the Revenue Minister and the act of disrespect shown towards the national flag by certain anti-social elements during his visit to the flood-hit Seraj in Mandi district. The Cabinet made an appeal to the public to contribute generously towards Aapada Rahat Kosh, as the money so collected would go a long way in helping the affected families.

The Cabinet approved the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojna aimed at strengthening forest conservation and development through a community-driven approach. The scheme will be implemented across the state with an outlay of Rs 100 crore over five years. Under this initiative, community-based organisations such as Mahila Mandals, Yuvak Mandals, self-help groups and other registered community groups will be actively involved in forest conservation and development activities.

The Cabinet also approved to grant 50 per cent concession in motor vehicle tax for owners scrapping vehicles that fall under Pre-BIS, BS-I, and BS-II emission norms through a registered vehicle scrapping facility. It also granted approval to the premature release of 15 prisoners as per the recommendations of the State Sentence Review Board, with the condition to ensure their post-release conduct. This has been done for the first time.

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