U`khand govt asking for Rs 13,000 cr central assistance

Dehradun: Uttarakhand government has asked for central assistance of Rs 13,000 crore to rebuild infrastructure and rehabilitate people in around 300 villages ravaged by the floods last month. An estimate was prepared of the losses due to the floods in the state and a memorandum requesting the assistance was sent to the Centre by the state government, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar said here.

Around Rs 8,000 crore would be required to rehabilitate people in around 300 villages, including 60 villages totally destroyed in the floods, Kumar said. An additional Rs 1,500 crore would be required to rebuild infrastructure like roads, bridges, in the state while Rs 3,500 crore would be required to restore or rebuild assets of different government departments, he said. A team of officials from various Union ministries headed by Joint Secretary (Home), Lokesh Jha, met Kumar today to discuss the losses caused by last month`s natural disaster in the state. The 11-member body, which will stay in the state till July 20, will take stock of the damages and submit its report to the inter-ministerial panel formed by the Union government. PTI