Picture : Twitter/ ANI
Uttarakhand state government has announced a relief package of ₹ 45 crore to families in Joshimath, where large cracks appeared in homes and on roads.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a report by ANI 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 ₹ 1.50 Lakh per family is being given. An advance amount of ₹ 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 ₹ 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.
