Dehradun, Nov. 12 -- The Union government has significantly increased financial assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for disaster-affected families, farmers, livestock owners and damaged public infrastructure, following a request by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, said a release from the state government. The revised assistance norms cover losses related to agriculture, horticulture, livestock, housing, small-scale industries and essential infrastructure, among other sectors. Dhami and state disaster management and rehabilitation minister Madan Kaushik thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for the decision. Dhami said the enhanced assistance would provide significant relief to families affected by natural disasters in the state, which is vulnerable to floods, landslides, cloudbursts, heavy rainfall and snowfall due to its difficult geographical terrain. He said the revised norms would enable the government to provide greater financial assistance to affected people and expedite relief, rehabilitation and restoration work. Kaushik said the revised provisions would benefit affected families, farmers, livestock owners, fishermen and artisans, while also strengthening the restoration of local public infrastructure. Under the revised norms, the ex-gratia assistance for deaths caused by disasters has been doubled from Rs.4 lakh to Rs.8 lakh per person. The provision also covers personnel engaged in rescue and relief operations. Assistance for permanent disability of 40-60% has been increased from Rs.74,000 to Rs.94,000, while compensation for disability exceeding 60% has been raised from Rs.2.5 lakh to Rs.3.2 lakh per person. Financial assistance for serious injuries requiring hospitalisation for more than a week has been increased from Rs.16,000 to Rs.20,500. For hospitalisation of less than a week, it has been raised from Rs.5,400 to Rs.7,000. Assistance for loss of clothing and household goods has also been doubled from Rs.2,500 to Rs.5,000 per family. According to the release, the revised norms provide increased input subsidies for crop losses. Assistance for rain-fed crops has been raised from Rs.8,500 to Rs.11,000 per hectare, while compensation for crops under assured irrigation has increased from Rs.17,000 to Rs.22,000 per hectare. The assistance for perennial and horticultural crops has been increased from Rs.22,500 to Rs.30,000 per hectare. The maximum eligible area remains two hectares, while the minimum assistance has also been enhanced under the revised provisions. Compensation for permanent land damage by landslides and avalanches has been raised from Rs.47,000 to Rs.60,000 per hectare. For livestock losses, assistance for large animals, including cows, buffaloes, camels and yaks, has been hiked from Rs.37,500 to Rs.50,000 per animal, subject to maximum three animals a family. The release said the assistance for fully damaged houses in the plains has been increased from Rs.1.2 lakh to Rs.1.6 lakh, while for houses in hilly and remote areas has been raised from Rs.1.3 lakh to Rs.1.7 lakh. The Centre has also increased assistance for immediate restoration of disaster-damaged public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, drinking water schemes, irrigation facilities, electricity networks, schools and healthcare centres....