Hyderabad: The Telangana govt has notified heatwave as a ‘state-specific disaster’ for providing higher ex gratia to victims, increasing the amount from the existing Rs 50,000 under the Apathbandhu scheme to Rs 4 lakh. Some other states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have already declared heatwave as a state-specific disaster.
The state govt, in its order (GO MS No. 5) issued on Tuesday, said last year in Telangana, except for five districts, the remaining 28 districts experienced at least 15 days of heatwaves. Some districts such as Nalgonda, Mancherial, Peddapalli and Jagtial experienced more than 30 days of heatwaves.
“In addition, the debilitating effect of heatwaves was further exacerbated in urban areas due to the urban heat island impact and wet bulb impact (combining heat and humidity). People, especially construction workers and daily wagers in Hyderabad, Warangal, all municipal corporations in Hyderabad, and urban local bodies, are vulnerable to heatwaves and sun strokes,” Telangana special chief secretary (disaster management) Arvind Kumar said in the order.
He said that under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines, states are permitted to use up to 10% of annual allocation of fund to provide immediate relief to victims of state-specific disasters.
The district collector would ensure that appropriate authority, such as the district medical and health officer (DMHO) in districts and in consultation with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) commissioner in Hyderabad, would identify heat-related deaths along with mandal revenue officers (MROs) and police officers.
The govt said the ex gratia amount would be drawn from the SDRF released by the Centre, and it would also help the govt in documenting heatwave-related deaths.
