Centre clears Rs 4,645 crore disaster mitigation projects; Assam gets wetland, Guwahati flood plan

A High-Level Committee (HLC) chaired by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has cleared a series of disaster mitigation, recovery and reconstruction projects worth ₹4,645.60 crore, benefiting nine states, including Assam. 

The move comes in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building a disaster-resilient India.

The committee, which also includes the Union Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, considered proposals for financial support under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).

For Assam, the HLC approved a wetlands restoration and rejuvenation plan worth ₹692.05 crore, aimed at enhancing water retention, creating flood storage, improving resilience, and protecting aquatic ecosystems. The project, covering 24 wetlands across nine districts along the Brahmaputra system, will be taken up as a pilot initiative toward building a “flood-proof Brahmaputra Valley.” Of the total cost, ₹519.04 crore will come from the Centre, while ₹173.01 crore will be borne by the state.

Additionally, the HLC cleared the Urban Flood Risk Management Programme (UFRMP) Phase-2 for 11 cities, including Guwahati, with a total outlay of ₹2,444.42 crore. The scheme will be funded in a 90:10 ratio between the Centre and states.

For Guwahati specifically, a dedicated flood mitigation project worth ₹200 crore was sanctioned, with ₹180 crore from the Centre. It will include structural measures like interlinking of water bodies, stormwater management, flood protection walls, erosion control using nature-based solutions, and non-structural interventions such as flood early warning systems, data monitoring, and capacity building.

The HLC also sanctioned ₹1,270.78 crore to Assam and ₹260.56 crore to Kerala for recovery and reconstruction after the devastating 2022 floods and landslides, and the 2024 Wayanad landslide respectively.

Earlier, the Centre had rolled out ₹3,075.65 crore for urban flood risk management in metro cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, alongside allocations for mitigation of landslides, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), forest fires, lightning, and drought.

This fresh assistance is in addition to ongoing support through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). In 2025-26 alone, the Centre has released ₹13,578.80 crore to 27 states under SDRF and ₹2,024.04 crore to 12 states under NDRF.

The Home Minister also approved an advance release of ₹24.40 crore as the second installment of SDRF to Sikkim for 2025-26. Meanwhile, the Centre has disbursed ₹4,412.50 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 21 states and ₹372.09 crore from NDMF to nine states.