Central Assistance to Manage Pilgrims

• 26 Jul 2024

Why in News?

The Uttarakhand government will seek help from the Centre through Niti Aayog to manage the large number of tourists.

Key Points

• Uttarakhand, known for spiritual tourism, is facing a significant challenge with its annual floating population increasing eight-fold.
• The Uttarakhand government requested the Centre to include compensation for damages caused by forest fires and high-voltage transmission line losses in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms in the Union Budget.
  • The state has not received any allocation for green bonus or floating population, despite being one of the 147 most landslide-prone districts in the country.
  • Districts like Rudraprayag and Tehri had hoped for relief, such as the establishment of glacier or landslide research centers, but the budget did not address these concerns.

State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)

• SDRF has been constituted under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• It was constituted based on the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.
• It is the primary fund available with the State governments for responses to notified disasters to meet expenditure for providing immediate relief.
• It is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) every year.