After a speedy assessment of the damages caused due to the unprecedented November rains in which four lakh people have been displaced, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday has asked the Centre to sanction Rs. 8,481 crore for carrying out temporary and permanent restoration of infrastructure.
In her letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Ms. Jayalalithaa has asked the Centre to immediately sanction Rs. 2,000 crore to continue rescue and relief operations with the “same vigour”.
She also submitted a Memorandum, containing a detailed assessment of damages and requirement of funds, so that the financial assistance immediately required from the Centre could be expeditiously secured as weeks were still left in the monsoon during which more weather systems were expected to develop which could cause further damage.
This assessment has been made as an immediate measure since the State required assistance from the Centre to meet the very high expenditure requirements that such a severe calamity has caused. The funds required were well beyond the resources available with the State including the State Disaster Response Fund.
Keeping in view the urgency of restoring many of the infrastructure facilities and services to the flood affected people and to support the State which was taking up massive scale relief operations, Ms. Jayalalithaa asked the Prime Minister to depute a Central team immediately to make its on-the-spot assessment of damages and to release central financial assistance without any delay.
The November rains were extremely heavy and sustained for several days leaving a trail of damage and destruction. To cite an example, at Neyveli, it rained 437 mm on November 9. Similarly, Chennai has received the second heaviest monthly rainfall recorded in the past more than 100 years in just the first 20 days of November, the Chief Minister pointed out.
As many as 169 lives were lost during this monsoon beginning October 10. More than 4 lakh people were shifted to relief camps and provided food and shelter. Rescue and relief operations were undertaken on a war footing. There was widespread damage to property including dwelling units and crops.
Infrastructure, including roads and bridges, storm water drainage systems, water supply and sewerage systems and electricity supply systems have been battered in many areas. “The State had sanctioned Rs 500-crore initially but the damage indicates a much higher financial requirement. The extent of damage is still unfolding,” she said.
