Ex-Gratia Assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), Assam

What is ex-gratia assistance under the SDRF in Assam?

Ex-Gratia Assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund is the Government of Assam's statutory relief payment to people harmed by notified natural disasters: most often floods, but also landslides, storms, lightning and erosion. The State Disaster Response Fund is the standing corpus every state maintains under the Disaster Management Act framework, funded jointly by the Centre and the state, and drawn down against nationally agreed norms of assistance.

The Revenue & Disaster Management Department of the Government of Assam owns the fund. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority, which publishes its guidelines and SOPs at asdma.assam.gov.in, sets the operating framework, and the District Disaster Management Authorities and Circle Offices do the actual assessment and sanction on the ground.

Assam is the state where this matters most. The Brahmaputra and Barak valleys flood every monsoon, and in the 2026 monsoon the state recorded a death toll running past 70 with more than ten lakh people affected across districts. Ex-gratia is the mechanism that turns that loss into a defined, payable entitlement rather than a discretionary handout.

The word "ex-gratia" is important and often misunderstood. It is relief, not compensation for the full value of what was lost. Rs 4 lakh does not price a human life; it is a fixed, immediate payment the state makes so that a bereaved family is not destitute while it recovers.

How much is the ex-gratia and what else is paid?

The core figure is Rs 4 lakh per deceased person from the SDRF. On 28 July 2026, in response to that year's severe floods, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced an enhanced package layering additional state money on top:

• Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia from the SDRF for each death in the disaster.
• Rs 5 lakh from the Assam Chief Minister's Relief Fund, over and above the SDRF amount.
• Rs 9 lakh total per deceased person under the 2026 flood package.
• Rs 4 lakh for families of persons missing for more than 30 days, on a missing certificate from the Circle Office.
• Rs 15,000 interim cash relief per severely flood-affected family, by direct benefit transfer, initially covering over one lakh families in Charaideo, Sivasagar, Golaghat and Jorhat.

The same 2026 announcement carried education support for children in affected families: free school uniforms and textbooks in Charaideo and Sivasagar, Rs 1,000 towards books for higher secondary students, Rs 3,000 for undergraduate students in BA and BSc courses, and Rs 5,000 for postgraduate students. Orunodoi payments were advanced to 1 August 2026 with Rs 2,500 credited in the affected districts, so an eligible household could see Rs 17,500 arrive across the two heads.

Beyond death ex-gratia, the SDRF framework also funds relief for damaged houses, lost crops, dead livestock, gratuitous relief for people in camps, and clothing and utensil assistance. Those rates are governed by the nationally notified norms of assistance for the SDRF period and are applied by the district administration after a joint field assessment. Because those item rates are revised periodically and are not published as a single citizen-facing figure on the state portal, confirm the current rate for your specific loss with your Circle Office rather than relying on a figure quoted second-hand.

Who is eligible for SDRF ex-gratia and who is not?

Eligible:

• The next of kin of a person who died in a notified natural disaster in Assam. The spouse, and failing that the children, parents or legal heirs.
• The family of a person missing for more than 30 days in such a disaster.
• Households whose houses were fully or severely damaged in the disaster, assessed by revenue staff.
• Farmers whose standing crops were lost beyond the notified damage threshold.
• Households that lost livestock, and people housed in relief camps who qualify for gratuitous relief.

There is no income test and no caste or category restriction on death ex-gratia. Both APL and BPL families are covered. Assam's Orunodoi beneficiaries and widow-pension holders remain eligible.

Who cannot apply / is not eligible:

• Families where the death was not caused by a notified natural disaster. A road accident during the monsoon, a death from illness in a relief camp unrelated to the disaster, or a suicide is not eligible for SDRF ex-gratia.
• Anyone claiming for an event that has not been notified as a disaster under the SDRF framework.
• Claimants who cannot establish their relationship to the deceased, where a rival claim exists.
• Claims for losses already fully compensated under a different government head for the same event, the district administration checks against double payment.
• Persons ordinarily resident outside Assam whose loss occurred outside the state.

What documents are required to claim SDRF ex-gratia?

• Death certificate of the deceased, or a missing certificate from the Circle Office where the body was never found.
• Circle Officer's certificate linking the death to the notified disaster event. This is the operative document; the 2026 relaxation made it sufficient in place of a post-mortem report for flood deaths.
• Aadhaar card of the claimant.
• Bank passbook of the claimant, since payment is by direct benefit transfer.
• Proof of relationship or a legal heir certificate, particularly where several relatives could claim.
• Damage assessment report from the Circle Office, for house, crop or livestock claims.

No fee is charged at any stage.

How to apply for SDRF ex-gratia in Assam

1. Report the death or loss to the Circle Office immediately. The Circle Officer is the entry point for every SDRF claim in Assam. Report as soon as practicable after the event; ex-gratia claims are event-based, and a long unexplained gap between the disaster and the claim invites questions.
2. Get the disaster linkage recorded. Ask the Circle Office to issue the certificate confirming that the death occurred in the notified disaster. For flood deaths, the Government of Assam has directed that this certificate alone is sufficient and a post-mortem report is not to be insisted upon.
3. Submit the claim with documents. Hand in the death or missing certificate, the Circle Officer's certificate, your Aadhaar, bank passbook and relationship proof at the Circle Office or the District Disaster Management Authority. Ask for a written acknowledgement with a reference number.
4. Allow the field verification and joint assessment. For house, crop and livestock damage, revenue and line-department staff conduct a joint inspection and prepare a damage assessment report. Be present and point out every affected item; nothing added later without a fresh inspection.
5. Track the sanction at the district office. The District Disaster Management Authority processes and sanctions ex-gratia out of the SDRF allocation. Follow up with your acknowledgement reference.
6. Confirm the credit in the bank account. Payment is made by direct benefit transfer. Check the passbook of the account recorded in the claim, not another family member's account.

There is no online citizen application for SDRF ex-gratia, and no portal that accepts individual claims. Anyone offering to file your ex-gratia claim online for a fee is not operating a government process.

Why do SDRF ex-gratia claims get delayed or rejected?

• Missing disaster linkage. The death certificate exists but nothing on record ties the death to the notified disaster. Fix this by obtaining the Circle Officer's certificate.
• Waiting out the 30 days for a missing person. This is not a rejection, only a built-in delay; the claim matures once 30 days have passed.
• Wrong or dormant bank account. The single most common cause of a sanctioned payment not arriving. Verify the account number and IFSC against the passbook.
• Competing claims among relatives. Where a spouse, parents and siblings all claim, the district holds the file until a legal heir certificate settles it.
• Damage assessed lower than the notified threshold. A partially damaged house may not qualify at the rate the family expected. Ask for the assessment report and, if the inspection missed items, request a re-inspection before the district closes the assessment.
• Claiming for an ineligible cause of death. No amount of follow-up converts a non-disaster death into an SDRF claim; the correct route is a different welfare scheme.

Where do you complain if the ex-gratia is not paid?

Escalate in order:

1. The Circle Officer who received the claim — for a claim not registered, no acknowledgement, or a field inspection not conducted.
2. The Deputy Commissioner and the District Disaster Management Authority of the district, for a claim registered but not sanctioned, or sanctioned but not credited.
3. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority, whose guidelines, SOPs and contact details are published at asdma.assam.gov.in, and the Revenue & Disaster Management Department, for unresolved district-level failures.

Because the delivery of a notified public service in Assam is governed by the Assam Right to Public Services Act, a delay in issuing the underlying certificates, death certificate, legal heir certificate; can also be pursued through the Sewa Setu grievance and appeal route at sewasetu.assam.gov.in, toll-free 1800-345-3574. That helpline covers Sewa Setu service delivery generally and is not a dedicated ex-gratia line. During an active disaster, the district emergency operations centre numbers published by ASDMA and the district administration are the fastest contact.