Key Points:
- No eligible affected family should remain deprived of relief; directions issued to add any omitted families to the list within one week.
- Reconstruction and recovery work to be undertaken under the theme ‘Build Back Better Than Before’; all recovery works to be completed within one month.
- Around 50 lakh people in 15 districts, 88 blocks, 575 gram panchayats, 2,642 villages and 136 wards of 21 urban areas have been affected by floods.
- Officials directed to prepare an appropriate assessment report of flood damage ahead of the proposed visit of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Patna, September 2026: Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday launched the transfer of ex-gratia relief of Rs 579.23 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into the bank accounts of 8,27,472 flood-affected families at the rate of Rs 7,000 per family. The programme was held at ‘Sankalp Sabhagar’ located at Lok Sevak Awas.
During the programme, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management Department, Santosh Kumar Mall, gave the Chief Minister a detailed presentation on the flood-affected areas and the facilities being provided to affected people through relief and rescue operations.
Addressing the programme, the Chief Minister said that in the challenging flood situation, the state government’s highest priority was to immediately provide relief, assistance and safety to affected families. He said the government was standing with flood-affected people with complete sensitivity and that there would be no shortage in relief and rescue operations.
He said nearly 50 lakh people in 15 districts, 88 blocks, 575 gram panchayats, 2,642 villages and 136 wards of 21 urban areas had been affected by the floods. Around 55,000 hectares of land had also been impacted, resulting in damage to crops.
Relief and rescue operations are being carried out rapidly at every level in the affected areas.
The Chief Minister said more than 1,200 community kitchens were being operated to provide food to flood-affected people. Through these community kitchens, around 1.28 crore meals had already been served.
He directed officials to ensure continuous availability of food, drinking water, medicines and other essential facilities to people in the affected areas. As many as 21 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are continuously engaged in relief and rescue operations.
Choudhary said relief and assistance would continue until the situation returned to normal and no affected person would be allowed to face any inconvenience.
The Chief Minister said Rs 579.23 crore had been transferred through DBT into the bank accounts of 8,27,472 flood-affected families at the rate of Rs 7,000 per family. He directed officials to maintain complete transparency in the identification and verification of eligible beneficiaries.
“If any eligible affected family has been left out of the assistance, it should be included in the relief list within one week,” he directed, stressing that no eligible flood-affected family should remain deprived of government relief.
He also directed officials to accelerate recovery and reconstruction work along with relief operations. The state will work on the theme ‘Build Back Better Than Before’, with directions to complete all recovery works within one month.
The recovery measures will include providing all necessary assistance to affected families and farmers, including agricultural input subsidy (agricultural investment grant) and road repairs.
The Chief Minister directed that the assessment of flood-related damage be conducted with complete seriousness and sensitivity and that affected families, farmers and other concerned people be provided assistance as per rules at the earliest.
In view of the proposed visit of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday, officials were directed to prepare an appropriate and fact-based report assessing the damage caused by the floods.
He also directed officials to document the actual situation of damage in the affected areas and prioritise necessary assistance and recovery measures accordingly.
The Chief Minister appreciated the coordinated efforts of all departments in providing relief to flood-affected people. He said the state government’s objective was not only to provide immediate relief but also to restore affected areas to normalcy at the earliest and ensure reconstruction in a better manner than before.
The government, administration, disaster management system and all concerned departments are working in coordination towards this objective.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Disaster Management Minister Ratnesh Sada, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Deepak Kumar, Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit, Director General of Police Vinay Kumar, Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Santosh Kumar Mall, Agriculture Department Principal Secretary Narmadeshwar Lal, Chief Minister’s Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh, Chief Minister’s Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, Energy Secretary Ajay Kumar Yadav, Health Secretary Kumar Ravi, Public Health Engineering Department Secretary B. Kartikeya Dhanji, Water Resources Department Secretary Dr Chandrashekhar Singh and other senior officials were present at the programme.
