New Delhi, Mar 3 (IANS): The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday approved Rs 1,682.11 crore as additional central assistance to five states and one Union Territory (UT) to deal with the damage caused by the flood and landslides last year.

According to the ministry, the states of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will get funds to mitigate the damage caused by the floods or landslides during 2021.

A grant of Rs 351.43 crore has been earmarked for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 112.19 crore to Himachal Pradesh, Rs 492.39 crore to Karnataka, Rs 355.39 crore to Maharashtra, Rs 352.85 crore to Tamil Nadu and Rs 17.86 crore to UT of Puducherry.

This additional assistance is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the states in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at the disposal of the states.

During the financial year 2021-22, the Central Government has released Rs 17,747.20 crore to 28 states in their SDRF and Rs 4,645.92 crore to eight states from National Disaster Response Fund(NDRF).

"The High Level Committee (HLC) under the chairmanship of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved additional central assistance under the NDRF to five states and one Union Territory, which were affected by floods/ landslides during 2021", the officials in the Ministry said.

This relects the resolve of the Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help the people of the five states and one Union Territory who faced these natural disasters, the MHA said in a statement.

The Centre had deputed Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to these states and Union Territories, immediately after the calamities, without waiting for the receipt of Memorandum from them.