Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Monday announced an initial relief package of ₹110 crore to assist families affected by floods in Odisha.
Assuring that the state administration stands firmly with the people, the Chief Minister directed officials to ensure immediate distribution of assistance based on preliminary damage assessments, with comprehensive financial support to follow once final assessments of damaged roads, bridges, and infrastructure are completed.
The announcement followed an aerial survey conducted by the Chief Minister to inspect the impacted zones firsthand, after which senior ministers were delegated to directly supervise relief and rescue operations in the worst-hit districts.
According to a CMO release, Gratuitous Relief will be provided to all eligible families in flood-hit areas and will remain operational until normalcy fully returns.
Under the package, assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for damaged houses includes:
₹1.20 lakh for fully damaged houses
₹6,500 for partially damaged pucca houses
₹4,000 for partially damaged kutcha houses
₹8,000 for collapsed thatched houses
₹3,000 for cowsheds
For crop and horticulture losses suffered by small and marginal farmers, assistance will be provided at the rate of ₹8,500 per hectare in non-irrigated areas,
₹17,000 per hectare in irrigated land,
and ₹22,500 per hectare for perennial crops.
Ex-gratia assistance of ₹4 lakh each will be given to the next of kin of the six people who died in the floods, as per SDRF norms.
Compensation for livestock losses includes:₹37,500 per milch animal (buffalo/cow)
₹4,000 per goat or sheep
₹32,000 per draught animal (bullock, buffalo, horse)
₹20,000 per calf, donkey or mule
The state government has clarified that the administration is working continuously to ensure immediate relief and all necessary assistance reaches every affected family. Senior officials are reviewing the situation around the clock, and relief, rescue and rehabilitation work will continue until normalcy is restored.
The current floods have affected 22 districts, covering 85 blocks, 15 urban areas, 656 gram panchayats and 1,458 villages. Around 8,63,909 people have been affected, while 2,67,301 people have been evacuated to safer places as a precautionary measure. A total of 529 relief camps and 31 cattle camps are operational in the affected areas. Essential relief materials distributed so far include about 41 quintals of rice, 1,115 quintals of flattened rice (chuda), 496 quintals of jaggery (gud), and 3,869 polythene sheets, along with other emergency supplies. About 1,816 metric tonnes of cattle feed have been provided to livestock owners.
To strengthen rescue and relief operations, 20 ODRAF teams, 7 NDRF teams and 172 fire service teams — a total of 199 rescue teams — are working continuously in the affected districts.
Preliminary estimates indicate that six people have died and 3,567 houses have been damaged. Around 33,458.30 hectares of agricultural land has been affected.
Relief, rescue and rehabilitation work is continuing on a war footing particularly in Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts. Affected people are being continuously provided with food, safe drinking water, healthcare, veterinary services, polythene sheets and other essential assistance. An advance assistance of ₹26 crore had earlier been released to the worst-affected districts, the release added.
