The Assam government on Saturday announced that land tax for people of the worst flood-hit Sivasagar and Charaideo districts would be waived for a period of one year.

The two districts have been badly hit by the deluge that has claimed the lives of 82 people across the state so far.

Announcing the decision on a Facebook Live session, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the waiver will be applicable from April 1.

Sarma said electricity bills for domestic users with consumption of less than 300 units in these two districts will also be waived for the month of July.

“In case of consumers who have prepaid meters, the government will reload 300 units,” he added.

Sarma further said a meeting was held with representatives of insurance companies, during which the government asked them to ensure quick and hassle-free settlement of claims by people from flood-affected Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.

He said the central government has already issued special instructions to the companies to dispose of the claims in the flood-hit districts expeditiously.

He said the insurance companies have promised to come out with a simple form and reduce the number of requisite documents to the bare minimum to facilitate claims from these four districts.

For availing life insurance claims, the companies will accept the government list with the deceased’s name and not insist on death certificates, Sarma said.

The companies will appoint a nodal officer and a district officer for each of these four districts, and also set up a 24×7 helpline and a special help desk to deal with settlement cases from these areas on a priority basis.

A video survey of damaged houses and businesses will be done, where necessary, Sarma said.

“Wherever necessary, till the final claim is made, interim settlement will be paid to the customer. I also urge the people to contact the insurance companies at the earliest,” the chief minister said.

Sharing an update on families who will be granted Rs 15,000 as interim relief for repairing their houses from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), Sarma said about 55,000 families in Sivasagar, 20,000 in Charaideo, 7,000 in Jorhat and 3,000 in Golaghat will be eligible for this grant, which will be disbursed from August 3 to 5.

“There could be families who may still not be able to get their houses into a habitable condition. For them, we will grant additional Rs 10,000 on August 10,” he said.

The chief minister announced Rs 2-2.5 lakh for repair of damaged Anganwadi centres with funds from CMRF.

He further said the government will try to reopen the schools from August 10, with free textbooks also sent for the affected areas for redistribution and money from CMRF for reissue of free uniforms also released.

“Permanent damage assessment will start from August 7 and for it, training of surveyors at the district-level will commence soon,” Sarma, who will be touring the most-affected districts for three days from Sunday, added.

The chief minister also expressed concern over the rising water level of Jiadhol River in Dhemaji district, and said he was in constant touch with the district commissioner to monitor the situation.

He also thanked all organisations and individuals for helping the affected people, whether by distributing relief materials on the ground or making monetary donations.