New Delhi, Jul 12 (IANS): The government on Wednesday released Rs 7,532 crore to 22 state governments for their respective State Disaster Response Funds. 

Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the two states which have been battered by heavy rains and floods leading to loss of lives, have been given Rs 180 crore and Rs 413 crore, respectively.

Maharashtra received the highest allocation of Rs 1,420 crore, Uttar Pradesh received Rs 812 crore, Odisha received Rs 707 crore, Bihar got Rs 624 crore and Gujarat received Rs 584 crore.

The amount has been released as per the recommendations of the Union Home Ministry.

In the wake of heavy rains across the country, the guidelines have been relaxed and the amount has been released as immediate assistance to states without waiting for the utilisation certificate of the amount provided to the states in the last financial year.

The annual central contribution is released in two equal installments as per the recommendation of the finance commission.

As per the guidelines, the funds are released on receipt of utilisation certificate of the amount released in the earlier installment and receipt of a report from the state government on the activities undertaken by the State Disaster Response Fund.

However, in view of the urgency, these requirements were waived while releasing the funds this time.