Govt Releases First Instalment Of Rs 8,873 Crore Under State Disaster Response Fund To States

The first instalment of the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) of Rs 8,873.6 crore has been released to the states, the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday (1 May).

The ministry further said that the states can utilise up to 50 per cent of the released amound i.e. Rs 4,436.8 crore for Covid-19 containment measures.

"As a special dispensation, the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance at the recommendation of Ministry of Home Affairs has released in advance of the normal schedule the first instalment of the Central Share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the year 2021-22 to all the States," the ministry said.

An amount of Rs 8873.6 crore has been released to the states, it added.

Normally, the first instalment of SDRF is released in the month of June as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission, the ministry said.

"However, in relaxation of normal procedure, not only has the release of SDRF been advanced, the amount has also been released without waiting for the utilisation certificate of the amount provided to the states in the last financial year," the ministry added.

"Up to 50 per cent of the amount released i.e. Rs 4436.8 crore can be used by the States for COVID-19 containment measures," it added.

According to the ministry, the funds from SDRF may be used by the states for various measures related to containment of COVID-19 including meeting the cost of oxygen generation and storage plants in hospitals, ventilators, air purifiers, strengthening ambulance services, COVID-19 hospitals, Covid Care Centres, consumables, thermal scanners, personal protective equipment, testing laboratories, testing kits, containment zone, etc.