Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired a meeting of the UT Executive Committee for Disaster Management to review the requirement of funds for proper COVID management.Administrative Secretaries of Departments of Finance, Home and Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction (DMRRR) participated in the meeting.The UT Executive Committee approved the release of ex-gratia relief of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of the casualties of COVID pandemic, besides sanctioning the release of Rs. 35 crore to districts for its disbursement. The Committee directed DMRRR to formulate the guidelines, in this regard in consultation with the Health & Medical Education Department.It was informed that so far 4,176 people have died due to COVID-19 and the relief will be disbursed in favour of the families through a transparent verification process via aadhar linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).Further, the Committee reviewed the status of utilization of funds that were earlier released to Divisional and District Commissioners for COVID management as well as SIDCO for establishing a COVID helpline. The Disaster Management Department was asked to obtain utilization certificates for the same and conduct audit of the concerned accounts.The State Executive Committee authorized DMRRR to assess the division-wise requirements of snow clearance machinery including snow ploughs and cutters for their subsequent procurement. DMRRR was also asked to technically vet the specifications of snow clearance machinery as per the latest technological sophistication and efficiency.
