Assam extends interim flood relief to 31,951 more families in four districts

The Assam government has extended its interim flood relief programme to another 31,951 families in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat, taking the total number of beneficiaries receiving one-time financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to 96,842, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on August 17.

The latest disbursement has taken the government’s expenditure on the assistance to Rs 145.26 crore. Sarma said the distribution was nearing completion, although enumeration was still underway in the Sivasagar Assembly constituency.

He said another 3,000 to 4,000 families could be included in a third phase, which would take the total number of beneficiary families to nearly one lakh.

The Chief Minister said the cash assistance had been prioritised as families affected by the floods required immediate financial support to return to their homes and begin rebuilding.

“People in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, and Golaghat need cash assistance the most because they require financial support to return to their homes after the floods,” Sarma said.

As part of the wider relief package, the government has also extended support through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Sarma said Rs 2,500 had been provided to Orunodoi beneficiaries in the affected areas.

The state government is simultaneously conducting a Rapid Damage Assessment across Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat to assess the extent of flood-related damage.

According to Sarma, 1,144 teachers have been deployed to assist with the assessment. So far, details of 26,681 damaged houses and 18,887 damaged cattle sheds have been uploaded to the government portal.

The assessment has also recorded damage involving 41 handloom-related raw material cases and 5,98,691 livestock. In the agriculture sector, around 99,256 farmers have so far been identified whose fields suffered flood-related damage. Assessment of damage to fisheries is also underway.

Sarma said the first phase of the survey was expected to be completed by August 28-29. The details would subsequently be published on a web portal, allowing affected people to verify the information and report discrepancies.

The government expects some omissions or inaccuracies to emerge after the first list is published, including cases where eligible beneficiaries may have been left out or the extent of damage may not have been adequately assessed.

To address such cases, a second round of field verification is scheduled to begin around September 1-2. Sarma said officials would visit affected people rather than requiring them to lodge individual complaints.

The second round is expected to be completed by September 10-11, with the final list targeted for publication by September 15-16. A third assessment will also be undertaken wherever necessary.

The government has set a target of completing the assessment process and transferring eligible assistance through DBT before Durga Puja.

“Our aim is to complete the entire rapid assessment process and release through DBT the amount they should receive before Durga Puja,” Sarma said.

The damage recorded on the government portal has so far been valued at around Rs 480 crore, covering various assets affected by the floods.