Government to restart distribution of Rs 10,000 aid to affected families

HYDERABAD: The State government has decided to resume distribution of financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to all deserving families affected by recent heavy rains. In this regard, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar directed the MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar and GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar to prepare a schedule for the distribution of cash relief at the doorstep of all the remaining affected families.

As per the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Chief Secretary reviewed the work done so far on Sunday. Till date, Rs 387.90 crore has been distributed to 3.87 lakh affected families. Earlier, the government had sanctioned an amount of Rs 550 crore from the Chief Minister Relief Fund to the MAUD Department for rescue, relief, and rehabilitation programmes in affected areas.

The State government had stopped the disbursement of financial assistance two days ago after the move drew sharp criticism from Opposition parties, who accused the TRS of ‘bribing the voters’ ahead of the GHMC elections.

Many flood-affected victims complained of discrimination. They alleged that people close to public representatives or political leaders had received the relief while many genuinely affected families were denied it. They alleged that corporators showed favouritism while releasing the aid.