Govt to set up separate relief fund for rain affected people

Rajasthan government today said it will set up a separate calamity relief fund to provide instant assistance and support to the people affected by unseasonal rain and thunderstorms in the state.
Chief Minister said during her visit to rain-hit areas that fund will be helpful in issuing relief to people immediately.
Raje said that she has directed district collectors to provide instant help to eligible elderly and disabled people on priority basis.
A day ahead of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's scheduled visit to rain-affected areas in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today visited the villages of Lakheri area here.
After assessing the situation and listening to farmers, she declared 820 villages out of 860 villages of the district as scarcity hit and ordered the district authorities to immediately facilitate the relief amount.

Meanwhile, in a meeting in Jaipur, the Rajasthan government has decided that the people working under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be getting extension of working days as a part of relief operation.

People, employed under 100-day MGNREGA scheme and are based in the rain-affected villages of Rajasthan, will get extension of their working days till March 31.
Chief minister Vasundhara Raje took the decision in a meeting here.
The additional days of work will be sanctioned in those Panchayats which will be identified by District Collector after assessment of losses to crops, according to a release.

Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria, Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini, Rural Development Minister Surendra Goyal, Food and Civil Supply Minister Hem Singh Bhadana, MoS Cooperatives Ajay Singh, Chief Secretary C S Rajan and other senior officers were also present in the meeting.