Release Central assistance for flood damage, Stalin urges Modi

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise the Ministry of Home Affairs to release the Central assistance towards rain-related losses suffered in the state.

Stalin, in a letter to Modi, said the northeast monsoon rains and floods damaged habitations, crop lands, and resulted in loss of human lives and cattle.

"The Central team for assessing the damages due to incessant rains visited Tamil Nadu on November 21, 2021. We have submitted so far, three memoranda seeking relief assistance from Government of India to the tune of Rs 1,510.83 crore for temporary restoration and Rs 4,719.62 crore for permanent restoration of damaged infrastructure like roads, bridges and public buildings etc.," he said. The financial position of the state has been under severe stress due to Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent flood situation only accentuated it, Stalin added.

"The State Disaster Response funds have also been fully utilised. As you may agree, the affected people need to be compensated at the earliest to enable them to get over the present impact of the floods and also to reconstruct the damaged infrastructure so that transport, irrigation, education etc, are put back in track," he said.