TN receives Rs 522.34 crore as additional central assistance for natural calamities

Chennai, April 5 (IANS) The Union government has sanctioned an additional assistance of Rs 522.34 crore to Tamil Nadu to help address the devastation caused by recent natural calamities.

The Union Territory of Puducherry has also received Rs 33.06 crore as part of the same relief effort.

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L. Murugan, said that the Union government continues to stand firmly with state governments in times of natural calamities and disasters.

“The High-Level Committee (HLC), chaired by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, approved a total of Rs 1,280.35 crore in additional Central assistance for the states of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. These regions were severely impacted by floods, flash floods, cloudbursts, landslides, and cyclonic storms during 2024,” he informed.

The Union Minister added that of the total amount, Rs 1,247.29 crore will be disbursed to the three states from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), subject to an adjustment of 50 per cent of the opening balance available in their respective State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF).

“This assistance comes in addition to the regular funds already released under the SDRF and the Union Territory Disaster Response Fund (UTDRF),” he said.

He added that in the financial year 2024–25, the Central Government has released Rs 20,264.40 crore to 28 states under SDRF and Rs 5,160.76 crore to 19 states under NDRF.

“Furthermore, Rs 4,984.25 crore has been released from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 19 states, and Rs 719.72 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to eight states,” the minister said.

He said that Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) were dispatched to the disaster-affected areas immediately after the events, even before receiving formal memoranda from the concerned state governments.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting interim relief of Rs 2,000 crore from the NDRF and further assistance based on the assessment of the central team.

He had detailed the widespread destruction caused by Cyclone Fengal, which brought torrential rain and gale-force winds across the state.

According to state government data, the cyclone led to the death of 12 people and inundated over 2.11 lakh hectares of agricultural and horticultural land.

It said that additionally, it caused extensive infrastructure damage, destroying 1,649 km of electric conductors, 23,664 electric poles, 997 transformers, 9,576 km of roads, 1,847 culverts, and 417 water tanks.

The districts of Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi recorded over 50 cm of rainfall in a single day - equivalent to an entire season’s average - resulting in unprecedented flooding. The cyclone affected nearly 69 lakh families and displaced around 1.5 crore individuals.

Tamil Nadu’s preliminary assessment estimates a requirement of Rs 2,475 crore for temporary restoration and rehabilitation efforts.

--IANS

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