§ 14. Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Indian Government about further assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake in Gujarat. [692]
§ Clare ShortMy Department is in active discussions with the Indian Government regarding the possibility of our providing assistance to help strengthen disaster management arrangements in the country, in the wake of the Gujarat earthquake and other major disasters. To this end, an expert DFID team has recently visited India to assess the current situation and will be putting forward recommendations shortly.
Our priority has been to ensure that those who survived the earthquake were cared for until normal services were restored. In my statement to the House on Monday 29 January, I announced an overall allocation of up to £10 million to support the emergency relief efforts in Gujarat without reducing spending in other parts of India. To date nearly £9 million of the total allocation has been disbursed. We are considering allocating the balance to help strengthen natural disaster management capacity.