Nagaland receives Rs 20.50 cr as state disaster response fund, allots 25 pc for COVID-19 fight

Nagaland has received from the Centre its first installment of Rs 20.50 crore under the State Disaster Response and Mitigation Fund (SDRMF) for the year 2020-21, a senior official here said. Talking to reporters, Johnny Raungmei, the officer on special duty, Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), said the state government would use 25 percent of the total amount received from the Centre to bolster its efforts to fight the COVID-19 crisis.

The disaster management authority in all 11 districts of Nagaland has been sanctioned Rs 5 lakh each for extending relief and support to the daily-wage earners and the poor at the state's quarantine centers, amid the 21-day nationwide lockdown, he said on Friday. This would be in addition to Rs 31 lakh it had earlier approved for the districts, he said The NSDMA had also dispatched 35,000 quintals of rice amounting to Rs 4.94 crore for the unorganized sector workers.

The health department had been allotted Rs 28 lakh for purchase of medical equipment, Raungmei said, adding that state executive committee - headed by the chief secretary - might sanction more funds, if and when required. "We are hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst in this fight against COVID-19," Raungmei said.