New Delhi, August 31:
Reaffirming its commitment to support states in times of natural calamities, the Central government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has constituted Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to assess the damage caused by heavy rains, floods, cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The decision, taken on the directions of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, aims to provide immediate on-the-spot assessment of the situation and the relief measures being undertaken by state governments. The teams will visit the affected districts early next week.
An IMCT and a multi-sectoral team have already visited parts of Himachal Pradesh, which has witnessed widespread devastation during the current monsoon season. Each Central team will be led by a senior officer of Joint Secretary rank from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) or the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and will include officers from the Ministries of Expenditure, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Jal Shakti, Power, Road Transport & Highways and Rural Development.
The MHA has also been coordinating with state authorities to provide logistic support, including deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, Army units and Air Force helicopters for rescue operations and restoration of essential services.
Since August 2019, following a decision of Home Minister Amit Shah, the MHA has been deputing IMCTs immediately after any major disaster, without waiting for state memoranda, to ensure timely assessment. Based on these reports, the Centre provides additional financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in line with established procedures.
During the financial year 2025–26, the Centre has already released ₹10,498.80 crore to 24 states under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to enable immediate relief distribution. In addition, ₹1,988.91 crore has been disbursed from the NDRF to 12 states, ₹3,274.90 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 20 states, and ₹372.09 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to nine states.
