Odisha flood relief has been extended to affected families in every block of Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts, with the state government approving 50 kg of rice and Rs 2,500 in cash for each eligible household after flooding linked to Cyclone Arnab.
Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil announced the expanded assistance in a press release on Wednesday, saying the decision was taken in continuation of the emergency relief package announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The package had initially covered 4.29 lakh affected families in 16 of Ganjam’s 22 blocks.
The wider coverage follows representations by legislators from Ganjam, who met the chief minister and sought relief for families in all blocks of the district. Chikiti MLA Manoranjan Dyan Samantara welcomed the decision and said the extension covered the district more broadly.
Collectors in the three districts have been instructed to begin the enumeration and verification of eligible families immediately. The exercise is intended to establish the list of beneficiaries before distribution and, according to the relief commissioner, ensure that assistance reaches households in a smooth, transparent and timely manner.
The relief operation will require coordination between district administrations, civil supplies officers and the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation. District authorities will directly requisition and lift rice stocks for distribution. The cash component will be transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
Patil said authorised alternative disbursement methods would be used in areas where banking services have been disrupted. Officials have been instructed to maintain records of such payments. The arrangement is intended to keep cash assistance moving in locations where flooding or damage has affected normal banking access.
In Ganjam, 37,027 families had already received rice and 30,404 families had received cash assistance as of Tuesday, according to sources cited in the report. More than Rs 7.6 crore had been disbursed online to affected people in the district.
The assistance is currently limited to families holding ration cards. This makes the enumeration and verification process central to the relief operation, since district administrations will have to identify eligible households while coordinating food stocks, payment records and banking access across the three districts.
The Odisha government sanctioned more than Rs 107.44 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund to Ganjam last week. The latest decision extends the immediate relief framework beyond the 16 blocks initially identified in the district and brings all blocks in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal within the announced coverage.
The next steps are the completion of beneficiary enumeration and verification, followed by the requisition and distribution of rice and the transfer of Rs 2,500 to eligible families through DBT or authorised alternative channels where banking services remain disrupted.
