Government releases Rs. 8.97 crore rent assistance for disaster affected

SHIMLA 22 Feb 2026

The state government has released Rs. 8.97 crore to provide rental assistance to disaster-affected families whose houses were completely damaged or rendered uninhabitable due to heavy monsoon rains in 2025. This financial support aims to ensure that affected families do not face difficulties in renting accommodation. The state government is providing rental assistance of Rs. 10,000 per family in urban areas and Rs. 5,000 per family in rural areas from its own resources. Under this initiative, 2,817 families in rural areas and 88 families in urban areas have benefited.

Due to the monsoon-led disaster in 2025, approximately 16,488 families across the state were affected. During this period, 2,246 houses were completely damaged and 7,888 houses were partially damaged.

A government spokesperson stated that, for the first time in the country, financial assistance for disaster victims have been increased significantly. Under a special relief package, compensation amounts have been enhanced multiple times. In this regard, the first installment of Rs. 141.61 crore has been released to beneficiaries for the reconstruction of damaged houses. The spokesperson added that over the past three years, almost all regions of the state have been affected by monsoon disasters, resulting in heavy losses to both private and public property. The estimated total loss to the state exceeds Rs. 16,500 crore. In 2023, the state government released a special relief package from its own resources to ensure that affected families did not face housing and livelihood difficulties. The assistance under the special relief package has been continued in 2025, with adequate financial aid being provided to the affected families.

The spokesperson further stated that under the relief package, the assistance for completely damaged houses has been increased from Rs. 1.30 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh. For partially damaged houses, assistance of Rs. 1 lakh has been fixed. The relief amount for loss of household items has been increased from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 1 lakh for homeowners and Rs. 50,000 for tenants. Additionally, there was previously no provision for compensation for polyhouse damages or for removing debris and silt from houses. The present government initiated assistance of Rs. 25,000 for damaged polyhouse and Rs. 50,000 for debris or silt removal.