DIMAPUR, JUNE 9 (MExN): The Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority under the Home Department from financial year of 2011-12 to 2015-16, withdrew a staggering amount of 86, 75, 17,000 (Eighty-six crore seventy-five lakh and seventeen thousand) from the Calamity Relief Fund through sixteen different drawal orders.
This information was contained in the response from the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) under Home Department to an RTI filed by a section of public leaders and social activist.
A press release providing details of the RTI from the petitioners namely Aheto V Yeputhomi, Hukavi T Yeputhomi, Kitoho S Rotokha, l Khevishe Achumi and S Zhevihe Sumi was furnished to the media on Thursday.
According to the petitioners, the department did not specify on the reason for the withdrawal of the quoted amount. “To most public, this information of drawal authority under different categories of the natural calamities and relief fund provided to Home Department need to be revealed,” the petitioners stated.
It therefore questioned, “How such huge amount was utilized for what purposes in what manner and through which agencies or authorities” and sought details on the “individual beneficiaries under NSDMA and in what manner they were assisted through whose authority.”
Further, the NSDMA in their response highlighted that Nagaland received Rs 19, 41, 00, 000 (Nineteen crore and forty one lakh) from the financial year 2010-11 to 2014-15 as grant in aid under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
Out of this amount, Rs 12, 99, 00,401 (Twelve crore, ninety-nine lakh and four hundred one) had been distributed to 11 district, the beneficiaries totaling to 15,288 (fifteen thousand two hundred eighty eight) persons for various natural calamities such as - fire, landslide, storm, etc.
The SDMA had also contributed Rs 10, 00,000 (Ten lakh) to Uttarkhand on June 24, 2013 and had spend Rs 69, 15,430 (Sixty-nine lakh, fifteen thousand four hundred and thirty) to unspecified individuals.
Accordingly, an amount of Rs 6, 41, 99,599 (Six crore, forty-one lakh, ninety nine thousand, five hundred and ninety nine) is still to be utilized, the RTI response stated.
On this, the petitioners also sought answer as to how the Government and the concerned authorities envisages on utilizing the available resources at hand.
