CM in Joshimath, announces Rs 45 cr rehabilitation package

JOSHIMATH (Utt arakhand) :Uttarakhand state government has announced a relief package of Rs 45 crore to families in Joshimath, where large cracks appeared in homes and on roads. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the relief package has been released for nearly 3,000 families affected by gradual land subsidence in the Himalayan state.

"For the time being, interim assistance of Rs 1.50 Lakh per family is being given. An advance amount of Rs 1 lakh has been given to the affected land owners or families due to landslides in the affected area before the permanent settlement displacement policy is prepared," Dhami told reporters.

The Chief Minister also announced that Rs 50,000 have been given by the state disaster authority to each family as non-adjustable one-time special grant for the transportation of goods and immediate needs of their buildings. Due to landslides in the Joshimath city area, over 720 buildings have been identified that developed cracks. Residents, as a part of the rehabilitation, have been moved to safer places even as geologists and experts scramble to ascertain the reasons for subsidence in the ecologically fragile region.

Officials have stopped construction projects in the region and the government formed a committee to look into the incident and the situation arising out of the sudden crisis. Dhami has instructed the Chief Secretary to ensure speedy assistance to people affected by the sinking of their town.

"From the point of view of security, the families who are being shifted to other places should be ensured that all better necessary arrangements are there," the Chief Minister added. Dhami, who is in Joshimath to hold meetings in the wake of land subsidence in the area, started his day on Thursday by offering prayers at the Narsingh Temple.

"On-site inspection of the affected areas in Joshimath and meeting with local citizens," Dhami tweeted on Wednesday.

According to an official statement, the Chief Minister will hold a meeting with army officers and ITBP officers along with a meeting of the committee constituted for the transparent distribution of interim package to families affected by landslides and to determine the rate of rehabilitation package.