Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday announced an immediate advance Central assistance of Rs.1,000 crore towards the relief works of Phailin cyclone and damages caused due to recent floods in 17 districts.
Dr. Singh made this announcement when the Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, led a delegation in New Delhi to seek the Central assistance, according to a press release issued here.
The Prime Minister assured the Chief Minister that an amount of Rs.1,145 crore due to Andhra Pradesh since 2009 towards drought and cyclone relief already sanctioned would be released. Mr. Reddy had sought a sum of Rs.6,510 crore as per the NDRF norms towards the damages caused by both Phailin cyclone and the recent heavy rains. He requested for an emergency advance of Rs.1,000 crore.
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AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, Union Ministers - Pallam Raju, Chiranjeevi, Panabaka Lakshmi; State Ministers Parthasarathi, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Sailajanath; MPs A. Saipratap, Ananta Venkatrami Reddy, K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao were among those who accompanied him.
Mr. Reddy said the cyclone left a trail of destruction in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts. He requested for reimbursement of Rs.1,145 crore deducted from the financial assistance sanctioned by the High Level Committee, while releasing NDRF during 2009-10 to 2012-13.