Requested Centre to grant Rs 2,000 crore for flood relief: MP Home Minister

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bala Bachchan on Tuesday requested the Centre to grant funds for relief work in the flood-affected state.

"We have requested the Centre to provide funds for relief and rescue work in Madhya Pradesh. Floods have damaged properties and crops worth Rs 10,000 crore in the state. I also urge the BJP MPs to implore the Centre to provide help to the state government," Bachchan told reporters here.

He requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently release Rs 2,000 crore for Madhya Pradesh and extended the assurance to the people that the state government will stand with them.

The minister in the Kamal Nath Cabinet further accused former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of going back on his words with respect to the Centre's help to the state.

"Yesterday in Mandsaur, Shivraj Singh had said that the Centre had given Rs 1,000 crore to the state for relief work, but later he went back on his words. There is a huge gap between Shivraj's words and actions," Bachchan said.

He also raised the issue of the people allegedly affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam by claiming, "Today is the Prime Minister's birthday which he celebrated at Sardar Sarovar Dam but the people who were displaced and affected by the project have received no compensation till date."

Over 30,000 families living in the submergence zone reportedly faced displacement and loss of livelihood due to the filling of water in the dam.