PMO seeks details of flood victims for financial assistance

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the state government to submit details of all families whose houses were damaged in the last month’s devastating floods for financial assistance from the PM’s Relief Fund.
Sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that the PMO has sought the following information from the government: name of the flood affected person with parentage; district/tehsil/village; Bank Account number (with name and Branch of the Bank).
Pertinently, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Kashmir recently had announced Rs 570 crore for the reconstruction of damaged houses from his Relief Fund.
According to sources, following the PMO’s directions, the State’s government wrote to both Divisional Commissioners, asking them to submit the information in a given format for its further submission to the PMO.
Sources also disclosed that Deputy Commissioners have been directed by the government to submit details of Next of Kin (NOKs) of deceased persons along with their Bank Account numbers for providing them financial assistance, post floods.
Chief Secretary Muhammad Iqbal Khanday confirmed to Greater Kashmir that the Centre has sought details of families who have lost their houses.
“They (Centre) want to provide them assistance directly from the PM’s Relief Fund,” he said.
Khanday, however, said that direct disbursement of PM’s Relief Fund to Next of Kin (NOK) of deceased persons is a routine process.
“The PMO directly provides assistance to such cases everywhere,” he added.
During the visit to the Valley, Modi told reporters that he was “seriously considering” a demand from people whose houses were damaged that the money for reconstruction be directly sent to their bank accounts.
Earlier this month, the state government submitted a detailed proposal to the central government seeking a special financial package of Rs 44,000 crore for rehabilitation of the flood affected people.
Following the memorandum, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs deputed two teams to make spot assessment of the losses caused by the floods that hit the state in September.