Centre Denies Telangana Immediate Flood Aid Over Incomplete Paperwork

The Telangana government requested Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre for flood relief, but was denied due to missing paperwork. The Centre noted Rs 1,345 crore was already available in the state’s disaster fund. The Union Home Ministry urged Telangana to submit the required documentation for further releases.

Amid Telangana's urgent request for Rs 2,000 crore in flood relief assistance from the Centre, it has come to light that the required information for fund release has not been provided by the state government.

The Union government highlighted that as of April 1, the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) had a balance of over Rs 1,345 crore meant for the 2024-25 flood relief efforts.

In a letter addressed to the state Chief Secretary, a Union Home Ministry official indicated that the first installment of the Central SDRF share, amounting to Rs 208.40 crore for 2024-25, is still pending due to the absence of the necessary documentation from the state government.

The letter clarified that the delay in the release of funds is attributable to Telangana's failure to request the installment and submit requisite details like utilization certificates, crediting of earlier released funds, and interest earned.

On Wednesday, this letter was publicly shared by the staff of Union MoS (Home) Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

The Home Ministry official urged the Telangana government to provide the necessary information in the prescribed format and send a copy to the Department of Expenditure to expedite the release of the pending funds for FY 2024-25.

Despite this, the Telangana government has called on the Centre to declare the ongoing heavy rains and flooding in the state a national calamity and requested immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore, citing preliminary loss estimates of over Rs 5,000 crore.

(With inputs from agencies.)