Centre releases relief funds for drought-hit states

New Delhi: The central government on Monday approved the release of monetory assistance for seven drought-affected states, the home ministry said in a statement.

"A high-level committee led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved the assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) of Rs.280.19 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Rs.332.57 crore for Assam, Rs 170.19 crore for Himachal Pradesh, and Rs.16.02 crore for Nagaland," the statement said.

The committee also approved an amount of Rs 336.94 crore for Jharkhand, Rs 1,177.59 crore for Rajasthan and Rs 1,773.78 crore for Tamil Nadu after examining the proposals made by a central team that visited the states severely affected by drought.

Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting that was also attended by Finance minister Arun Jaitley, home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials from the ministries of home, finance and agriculture.