Modi sanctions Rs 940-crore assistance for flood-hit TN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday instructed the immediate release of financial assistance of nearly Rs 940 crore to deal with the flood situation in rain- battered Tamil Nadu, hours after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wrote to him for funds to sustain relief work.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed the release of financial assistance worth Rs 939.63 crore immediately to Tamil Nadu to assist it in dealing with the situation arising from the floods,” an official release said.

The Centre is also sending a team to Tamil Nadu to assess the damage and “further action will be taken after the team submits its report,” it said. The assistance was sanctioned in response to a request of the state government.

With the North-East Monsoon leaving a trail of destruction in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has pegged the damage at Rs 8,481 crore, with Jayalalithaa today urging Modi to immediately release Rs 2,000 crore to sustain relief work.

The CM, in her letter to Modi, gave a detailed memorandum on the flood damage. It was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office by a delegation led by STK Jakkayan, Special Representative of Tamil Nadu. She said that 169 lives have been lost in various rain- related incidents since October 1, 2015. Detailing the extent of the damage, Jayalalithaa told the PM that despite her government’s preventive efforts, the state had suffered severe damage on account of the “extremely heavy and sustained” rainfall which, she said, had left a trail of destruction and that her government had allocated Rs 500 crore for relief work.

The assessment of damage and requirement of funds for immediate relief and restoration of infrastructure which she said had been speedily carried out indicated a much higher financial requirement.

“The requirement of funds for immediate rescue and relief and the temporary and permanent restoration of infrastructure has been worked out at Rs.8,481 crore in all....” 

“This assessment has been made as an immediate measure since the Government of Tamil Nadu requires assistance from Government of India to meet the very high expenditure requirements that such a severe calamity has caused. The funds required are well beyond the resources available with the state, including the State Disaster Response Fund,” she said.

She requested Modi to depute a central team immediately to make its on-the-spot assessment of damage and to release central financial aid without any delay keeping in view the urgency of restoring many of the infrastructure facilities and services to the flood affected people.

“In the meanwhile, I request that an on account release of Rs 2,000 crore may be sanctioned immediately to enable the state government to sustain the relief and restoration operations with the same vigour,” Jayalalithaa said. Jayalalithaa recalled that a deep depression of ‘high intensity’ in the Bay of Bengal had hit the Tamil Nadu coast near Marakkanam on November 10, 2015, causing extremely heavy rains, particularly in the four northern coastal districts of Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Chennai and Tiruvallur.

“Based on the forecast received from Indian Meteorological Department and the alerts received from the National Disaster Management Agency, adequate precautionary measures were taken which minimised loss to life and property,” she said, adding state-level agencies and the local administration in the affected districts were put on high alert.

High level teams of ministers and senior IAS officers were deputed to various districts to monitor the preventive, rescue and relief operations while personnel of different departments, including Revenue, Police, Fire Service and Public Works Department were fully mobilised, the CM said.