Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release Rs 25,912. 45 crore for relief and restoration efforts due to the rain and flood which devastated parts of the State in the first week of December. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister on Tuesday, Jayalalithaa has said the amount was worked out by her team of officials who toured the flood-affected regions and assessed the intensity of destruction caused by the flood.
“Tamil Nadu immediately needs an additional sum of Rs 17,431.51 crores for temporary and permanent restoration. Including the earlier requirement of Rs 8,481 crores in the Memorandum sent on 23rd November, 2015, the State will need a total sum of Rs 25,912.45 crores for relief and restoration efforts due to the rain and flood damage,” said Jayalalithaa in the letter to the Prime Minister.
In an earlier letter, the chief minister had asked for an immediate relief of Rs 8481 crore and had told that she would be submitting the supplementary list soon. She said in Tuesday’s letter that though the Prime Minister released Rs 1940.42 crore, it included the arrears due to Tamil Nadu under the State Disaster Relief Fund 2014-15 and the special assistance for projects out of the special allocation with NITI Ayog.
She also blamed AP for aggravating the flood situation in Chennai. “The situation was worsened by release of water from reservoirs in Southern AP including Pichathur and Krishnapuram which flowed into drainage systems in Northern TN. Roads were flooded and essential services, including trains and bus transport had to be suspended in many locations. Chennai Airport was closed for 5 days,” the Chief Minister alleged.