A ₹242 crore relief package has been announced for flood- and erosion-affected residents of Malda in West Bengal, with funds earmarked for repairing fully and partially damaged homes, while the government also outlined arrangements for food, clothing, shelter and road restoration.
Suvendu Adhikari visited the affected areas ahead of a programme in the district, including an aerial inspection of the damage from Ratua. The report said he spent about 20 minutes surveying the affected areas by helicopter and recorded the extent of the devastation on a mobile phone.
The worst-affected locations identified in the report include Bhutni, Ratua, Manikchak and English Bazar. The flooding and erosion have damaged agricultural land and homes along the Ganga, forcing residents to leave with limited belongings. Some affected people have moved to relief camps, while others are reported to be sheltering without access to organised accommodation.
According to the announcement reported by Sangbad Pratidin, 24,595 completely damaged houses will receive ₹1.8 lakh per family for repairs. Another 22,340 partially damaged families will receive ₹90,000 each. The report did not specify when the housing assistance would be disbursed or which administrative process families must follow to qualify.
The relief plan also includes clothing, mosquito nets and food supplies for 5,000 families ahead of the upcoming festival period. Food distribution will be organised at 25 community kitchens, while relief supplies will be distributed every five days through 21 government relief camps. The government has also made arrangements to provide feed for livestock affected by the floods.
The Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries departments have been assigned responsibility for relief distribution, according to the report. The division of responsibilities places the immediate response across departments that manage household support, water-related infrastructure, farming and livelihoods.
Adhikari told affected residents that the government would work towards a permanent solution to the crisis. He said the government had assigned the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur responsibility for work related to preventing Ganga erosion and that a detailed project report would be finalised before implementation begins. The report did not provide a timeline for the report or construction work.
The announcement also included a proposal seeking ₹3,300 crore from the central government for Malda. In addition, repairs to 1,248 kilometres of roads were promised before Mahalaya. The report did not clarify whether the road figure refers exclusively to Malda or to a wider repair programme.
The scale of the announced housing assistance indicates that the response will require household-level damage assessment, coordination between district authorities and departments, and sustained monitoring of relief distribution. The next stated steps are the preparation of the riverbank erosion project report, the distribution of relief through camps and community kitchens, and the proposed road repairs before Mahalaya.
