A high-level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved projects worth Rs 1,604.39 crore under the ‘Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services’ scheme for five states—Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Kerala. The approved funds are as follows: Rs 340.90 crore for Bihar, Rs 339.18 crore for Gujarat, Rs 147.97 crore for Jharkhand, Rs 162.25 crore for Kerala, and Rs 614.09 crore for Maharashtra.
The committee, which includes the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister, and Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, reviewed several proposals for financial assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). These proposals aim to enhance the preparedness and capacity of fire services in the states.
In addition to the fire services scheme, the committee also approved Rs 555.70 crore for Sikkim, addressing disaster recovery and reconstruction needs caused by the Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in the Teesta river basin in October 2023.
The official statement further revealed that the Central Government has allocated a total of Rs 5,000 crore for the ‘Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services’ across states. Previously, 20 states had already received approval for Rs 3,373.12 crore in similar funding.
In the current fiscal year, the Centre has released Rs 19,074.80 crore to 28 states under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Rs 3,229.35 crore to 16 states under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF). Additionally, Rs 5,160.76 crore has been released under the NDRF and Rs 719.71 crore under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).
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