Chief minister Naveen Patnaik presents a memento to cricketer Pragyan Ojha in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. (PTI)

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 3: The state government today revised the guidelines related to the chief minister’s relief fund.

Now, the collectors and sub-collectors of a district can directly release money for treatment of the poor from the fund.

The government also announced that the Harischandra Sahayata scheme, which is meant to provide financial assistance to the poor and destitutes for performing last rites of their family members and cremation of the unclaimed bodies, would be launched from August 15.

Under the sahayata programme, funds will be placed with the gram panchayat, Notified Area Council (NAC), municipality and the municipal corporation to the tune of Rs 20,000, Rs 60,000, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 3 lakh per year, respectively. Under the scheme, a sarpanch can sanction assistance between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 in rural areas and a chairperson and a mayor can sanction between Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 in urban areas for cremation of the bodies.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today briefed all the collectors through video conferencing on these schemes and revised guidelines related to the fund.

The chief minister asked the collectors to convene meeting of the block development officers and the executive officers of urban local bodies to educate them on the Harischandra Sahayata and its operational guidelines. “The sensitisation programme of the block development officers, executive officers, sarpanchs and the chairpersons of the urban local bodies is to be over by August 12,” said Naveen.

Under the new guidelines, the collectors are authorised to sanction assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the deserving persons in any exigency on humanitarian point of view.

Collectors can sanction up to Rs 10,000 to victims of various accidents and other untoward incidents, to the persons in distress and to purchase medicines not available at government hospitals. The collectors are also authorised to sanction maximum up to Rs 20,000 for rehabilitation of the differently abled, orphans, destitute and widows. The sub-collectors will be allowed to sanction up to Rs 3,000 each to the deserving persons.

Naveen also told the collectors that awards would be given to three best performing districts in implementing the initiatives.