Bihar prepares to ask Centre for over ₹10,000 crore in flood relief funds
The Bihar government is finalising a demand of more than ₹10,000 crore from the central government to compensate flood damage that affected over 50 lakh people in 15 districts.
Heavy rains in early September caused the first wave of flooding in Bihar, submerging over 2,000 villages in 15 districts and affecting more than 50 lakh residents. The disaster damaged crops worth at least ₹270 crore, with losses potentially exceeding ₹300 crore, and destroyed infrastructure including roads, embankments and more than 4,000 government schools. The state’s disaster-management department expects to finish its damage assessment next week and will then submit a demand of over ₹10,000 crore to the Centre for compensation.
So far, ₹579.23 crore has been transferred as immediate assistance to 8,27,472 verified households, and overall relief spending is projected at roughly ₹2,000 crore. Union agriculture and rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the affected areas and pledged full cooperation from the Centre, while opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav called for greater central support and a national disaster declaration.
Why it matters
The claim could shape the scale of central assistance for one of India's worst recent flood disasters.
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