Bihar flooding and relief efforts

Widespread flooding in Bihar has impacted approximately 50 lakh people across 15 districts, affecting over 2,600 villages and causing substantial crop damage to roughly 55,000 hectares of land.

In response, Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary launched an ex-gratia relief program, utilizing Direct Benefit Transfer to distribute over Rs 550 crore to affected families, with each household receiving Rs 7,000. Additional financial support has been mobilized through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The Bihar BJP donated Rs 51 lakh to the fund, presented by State President Sanjay Sarawgi. Chief Minister Chaudhary also donated his entire one-month salary of Rs 270,000 to the fund. Furthermore, all BJP MPs, MLAs, and MLCs have pledged to donate one month of their salaries, while Rajya Sabha MP Nitin Navin contributed Rs 635,000, representing three months of his salary.

Relief efforts involve the deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams for rescue operations and crop damage assessment. Ongoing assistance includes the provision of relief camps, community kitchens, medical facilities, and fodder for livestock.

Expanding on agricultural relief, Chief Minister Chaudhary has transferred Rs 112.52 crore in agricultural input subsidies to more than 2.48 lakh farmers via Direct Benefit Transfer. This assistance targets crops damaged by heavy rainfall and flooding in August. Under the Agriculture Input Subsidy Scheme, eligible farmers receive varying rates: Rs 8,500 per hectare for unirrigated areas, Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated areas, and Rs 22,500 per hectare for perennial crops. While 457,616 farmers applied, 248,704 were cleared in this first phase. A special campaign is scheduled to begin October 22 to ensure remaining affected farmers receive relief.