The Central government has sanctioned Rs 1146.12 crore towards Tamil Nadu's efforts to rehabilitate areas affected by Cyclone Gaja. The move came on Monday, following a high-level committee meeting led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
According to a report in The Hindu, the Rs 1,146.12 crore was in addition to the Rs 550 crore available with the State Disaster Response Fund.
A week after the cyclone wreaked havoc across the coastal and delta districts of Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami had sought Rs 15,000 crore from the Central government towards permanent rehabilitation of the affected districts. He met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Following the chief minister's meeting with the PM, a central team was dispatched to assess the damage in the state.
However, Commissioner of Revenue Administration K Satyagopal told The Hindu that that the funds from the NDRF were for temporary relief and that funds for permanent relief were expected from the various ministries of the Central government.
"We cannot compare the funds we had sought for permanent restoration with the funds received for temporary restoration from the NDRF,” he told the newspaper.
Of the Rs 15,000 crore requested towards permanent rehabilitation, a major share will go towards restoring power and providing houses to the affected people. According to the memorandum presented to the PM, Rs 7,077 crore has been requested for Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for restoring electricity in the affected areas, and Rs 6,000 crore for providing relief to those who had lost their homes, partially or completely, in the cyclone.
Cyclone Gaja made landfall near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district in the wee hours of November 16. After striking the coast, it moved to interior Tamil Nadu where it caused extensive damage to crops and property and cut off power, telecommunication and road connectivity to the districts. The official death toll due to the cyclone stands at 63 and more than 3 lakh people have been displaced from their homes.