: The cash crunch caused by demonetisation has affected rescue and relief operations in many parts of Chennai, which are urgently required after Cyclone Vardah uprooted trees and damaged civic infrastructure.
Cash disbursement had fallen owing to demonetisation. However, rescue and relief operations were not affected until Monday as the Treasury has been disbursing cash for works implemented by various departments. But on Tuesday, the Treasury of the Greater Chennai Corporation stopped the disbursement of cash to provide for contingencies.
Disbursement of cash plays a key role in rescue and relief operations after any disaster as the provisions of the Transparency in Tenders Act cannot be adopted during such challenging times as a disaster.
Civic officials who visited Ripon Building on Tuesday with proposals for various works, including rescue and relief operations, returned empty-handed as the Treasury did not have cash. Cash is given to officials of the civic body across the table to cope with the crisis.
Officials in many zones were even unable to give cash of Rs. 100 towards daily contingency expenses for staff who are clearing uprooted trees. Owing to the shortage of cash, workers from other municipalities, who are part of relief teams, may not get the promised Rs. 2,000 incentive after the completion of relief and rescue work, officials said. At least Rs. 2 crore in cash is required every day for rescue and relief operations in the city, they added.
No alternative
Alternatives such as cheque transactions were explored but receiving cash through the bank accounts of lower level officials, including the Junior Engineer, was also challenging, sources said. “The government is yet to make any special arrangement through the Reserve Bank of India to provide cash during the crisis,” a senior official pointed out.
The Greater Chennai Corporation maintains accounts in ten different banks, including the Karur Vysya Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Canara Bank and the Punjab National Bank.
“Some of the officials who received cash from the treasury before Monday used it to carry out rescue and relief operations on Tuesday,” said an official. Owing to the cash crunch, the supply of food for workers from other municipalities is also expected to be affected this week, he notes.
Due to the cyclone, spending on food, bleaching powder, medical camps by the Health Department, solid waste management and fuel for vehicles is expected to increase, officials indicated.
