Andhra Pradesh: Central team to visit flood-hit places

Amaravati/New Delhi: The Union home ministry has begun the procedure to depute a Central government team to visit rain-battered Andhra Pradesh for on the spot evaluation of damage and relief efforts, aimed at recommending additional funds.

"The team will also recommend whether the disaster can be considered to be of a severe nature in the state," said an official.

A ministry of home affairs (MHA) office memorandum said Rakesh Kumar Singh, joint secretary (P-I) from the same ministry will lead the team with representatives from six more ministries.

Agriculture, finance (department of expenditure), Jal Shakti (department of water resources), power, road transport and highways and rural development (rural housing) are the six ministries. These ministries have been requested to nominate officers familiar with the ongoing schemes and programmes to assist the team leader in their visit to the southern state by 4 p.m. on Monday.

"It is also requested that the details of allocation, release of funds and expenditure incurred during 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, under various schemes implemented by the ministry concerned in AP may also be provided to the team leader," said the official.

Considering the urgency of the matter, the official said the Central team may visit AP immediately and on return should submit 20 copies of its report within a week to the disaster management division of MHA after making the final assessment.