Centre to advance release of funds for flood relief: Cabinet

New Delhi, Aug 9 (UNI) After a ''serious review'' of the flood situation in 21 states, which have lost over 1,500 lives and suffered an estimated damage of Rs 1,460 crore in the current south-west monsoon, the Union Cabinet today decided to advance the release of the second instalment of funds for relief measures.

At the review meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil made a presentation, observing that 50 per cent of the Centre's share of Rs 3,194.14 crore in the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) had already been released.

Upon this, Dr Singh directed that the remaining half, amounting to Rs 1,597.07 crore which would be due for release only in December, should be made available to the states ''at the earliest'' and this was endorsed by the Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters.

The Prime Minister asked the Water Resources Ministry to come up with a ''decisive plan'' based on earlier reports of various task forces for consideration by the Cabinet at its next weekly meeting on August 16.

According to the presentation, the worst hit states are Andhra Pradesh, Asom, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa and Puducherry.

Among the other flood-affected states are Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.

Bihar had already been provided more than Rs 500 crore and more funds would be placed at the disposal of the state government, subject to submission of the utilisation report, Mr Dasmunsi said.

Under the CRF, a total of Rs 21,330 crore would be available during 2005-10. The allocation for the current fiscal (2007-08) is Rs 4,258.85 crore, of which 75 per cent (Rs 3,194.14 crore) is the central share and the remaining would be accounted for by the states.

According to the presentation, the state governments have evacuated over 11 lakh people to safe places, opened over 3,000 relief camps in which almost five lakh people have been accommodated. Nearly 1,100 medical camps and about 250 cattle camps have been set up.

The flood-hit people have been provided with rice, pulses, jaggery, kerosene, salt and polythene sheets.

UNI