Top News

Guwahati: The Assam government on Tuesday announced relaxation in norms for providing ex gratia payment to next of kin of those killed or missing in the floods this year, while declaring additional Rs 5 lakh compensation to families of the deceased.

It also decided to provide interim monetary relief to the severely affected families and students with donations collected in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Making the announcements during a Facebook Live, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “So far, the rule was that post-mortem report has to be submitted to avail government ex gratia by next of kin. We have decided to do away with this and a certificate from the circle officer will suffice.” “Over and above the Rs 4 lakh ex gratia per victim that is paid at present, we have decided to give additional Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased from the CM’s Relief Fund,” he said.

In case of people missing in floods, Sarma said it has been decided that ex gratia of a total of Rs 9 lakh will be granted to the victims’ families if the bodies are not found within a month, with the circle officer authorised to issue the necessary certificate.

For families severely affected in the four worst-hit districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat, the government will provide an interim amount of Rs 15,000, which can be utilised for their household needs, the chief minister said.

‘Orunudoi’ beneficiaries of these four districts will receive Rs 2,500 for the month of August instead of the usual Rs 1,250, which will lead to some decrease in the amount paid to the beneficiaries in other parts of the state, he said.

For students of Sivasagar and Charaideo districts, the government will once again grant aid for free uniforms and textbooks, Sarma said.

The monetary grant will be provided to higher secondary, graduate and post-graduate students in these two districts.

The government has also decided to waive fees applicable for issue of duplicate educational marksheets, the CM said.

The funds for the interim relief and for the students will be provided from the CM’s Relief Fund, which has collected donation of over Rs 26 crore since the latest wave hit the state about 10 days ago, Sarma added.

The toll in Assam floods mounted to 75 on Tuesday with seven more deaths, though the number of affected population came down to 3.32 lakh, an official bulletin said. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)