Odisha government today sought an assistance of Rs 2,344.99 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to tackle the acute drought situation in the state.
"Though we had submitted two memoranda earlier based on an eye estimation report, this time the demand is made on the actual crop loss based on crop cutting report as per provisions of Odisha Relief Code," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra told reporters here.
In the two previous memoranda, the number of affected districts was put at 26, which went upto 28 in the final memorandum submitted today, Mohapatra said.
The number of affected blocks has also increased from 215 to 235.
Earlier, the state government had sought Rs 2,199.066 crore, he said, adding that crop loss of over 33 per cent has been reported from 15.36 lakh hectar of cultivable land.
Meanwhile, the SRC said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 815 crore from the NDRF as drought assistance for the state.
