Centre deputes teams to assess damage in disaster-hit States

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to assess damage in States affected by unprecedented rainfall, floods and other disasters over the past few days.

An IMCT each has been formed for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to assess the impact of heavy rainfall, flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides, the Ministry said in a statement.

Also read: India monsoon highlights on August 31, 2025

The teams will make on-the-spot assessments of the situation and relief measures undertaken by the State governments. They are scheduled to visit the affected areas early next week. An IMCT and a Multi-Sectoral Team have already visited Himachal Pradesh.

Each IMCT is led by a senior officer of the level of Joint Secretary in the MHA or the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and includes officials from the Ministries of Expenditure, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Jal Shakti, Power, Road Transport and Highways, and Rural Development.

The MHA said it is in touch with senior officers of the affected States and has extended logistic support, including deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, Army personnel and Air Force helicopters for rescue operations and restoration of essential services.

As per a decision taken by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in August 2019, IMCTs are constituted immediately after severe disasters for on-the-spot assessment without waiting for a State memorandum. Based on their reports, the Centre provides additional financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per procedure.

During 2025-26, the Centre has released ₹10,498.80 crore to 24 States for relief assistance, including ₹1,988.91 crore from the NDRF to 12 States, ₹3,274.90 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 20 States, and ₹372.09 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to nine States.