The livelihood loss suffered by fishermen due to the oil spill off Chennai coast last month was estimated at ₹135 crore and the Tamil Nadu government has urged the Director-General of Shipping to ensure that the funds are released from insurance companies, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said here on Monday.
In his first major event at Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency after taking over as the Chief Minister, Mr. Palaniswami distributed the interim relief to fishermen affected by the oil spill and Cyclone Vardah and said that he has urged Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari to grant an interim relief of ₹75 crore during their meeting in New Delhi last week.
About 15,000 fishing families were given an interim relief of ₹5,000 each. The oil spill, following the collision of two ships off the Chennai coast on January 28, had spread to about 104 km of the coast and had affected fishermen from Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, he said.
“Based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, a letter has been sent to the Director General of Shipping, urging that the estimated loss of ₹135.37 crore be released from insurance companies,” he said.
Focus on fishers’ welfare
Listing out all the welfare schemes implemented by the State government for fishermen, Mr. Palaniswami said works for boosting the fishing infrastructure has been undertaken to the tune of ₹1,105 crore during the last five years. He also recalled the efforts taken by the State government for the retrieval of Katchatheevu islet from Sri Lanka.
The Chief Minister also elaborated on the welfare schemes implemented in the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency, which had elected former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Finance Minister D. Jayakumar, who also holds the Fisheries porfolio, stated that the AIADMK government was taking all efforts to protect the interests of the fishermen. He also reiterated that consuming fish was safe.
Environment Minister K.C. Karuppannan, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, Fisheries Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi and senior officials were present during the event.
Drought relief
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami distributed drought relief to farmers from 31 districts during an event at the Secretariat here on Monday. An official press release stated that instructions have been issued to all District Collectors to ensure that the list of beneficiaries for electronic transfer of the relief amount to their respective bank accounts is produced at the respective treasuries. Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan was among the senior officials present at the occasion. It may be recalled that the Tamil Nadu government had declared all the districts of the State as drought-hit.
