Jairam sanctions Rs.340 crore for flood-ravaged Uttarakhand

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Thursday announced a special package of Rs.340 crore for flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

The rural development ministry is also working towards giving special assistance to Uttarakhand for constructing village houses under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) scheme.

The Rs.340 crore would be apart from the Rs.1,000 crore announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday.

"The ministry of rural development is working on a special road and housing package for Uttarakhand in view of the calamity. Next week, we are going to consider 82 roads and 27 bridges - covering a total 664 km - at a total cost of about Rs.340 crore. This we will be sanctioned next week," Ramesh said here.

The programmes will be implemented in 18 months, he added.

In February this year, the ministry sanctioned 118 roads and eight bridges - on a total of 1,140 km - at a total cost of Rs.472 crore for Uttarakhand.

The allocation for Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) in 2013-14 was about 14,000 houses for poor families, at a rate of Rs.75,000 each. This will cost a total of Rs.105 crore.

"But they are entitled to special assistance because of this unprecedented natural calamity. The state government will make an assessment of how many families have lost their houses, and get back to us. We will then examine their demands," Ramesh said.

He hinted that the ministry was ready to sanction another Rs.100 crore for rural housing in the state.