Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and sought assistance to the tune of ₹14,910 crore towards relief, permanent restoration and mitigation efforts in central districts ravaged by Cyclone Gaja.
According to the memorandum handed over by Mr. Palaniswami, the State has also sought ₹1,431 crore towards temporary relief and restoration work.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Palaniswami said: “The Prime Minister assured us that a Central team will visit the affected areas for a ground report.”
The team, led by Home Ministry official Daniel E. Richard, is expected to arrive in Chennai on Friday.
The Central team is expected to meet the Chief Minister on Saturday.
After visits to affected areas, it is expected to have a meeting with Mr. Palaniswami again on Tuesday.
A sum of ₹7,077 crore has been sought for permanent restoration work by the Electricity Department, which is working round the clock to install over one lakh electric poles that fell due to the cyclone. For granting relief for those who lost their homes, ₹6,000 crore has been sought.
Mr. Palaniswami claimed that the relief granted by the AIADMK government was higher than that given by erstwhile DMK regimes. “During natural disasters, it is the duty of the government to serve the people on humanitarian grounds and not for the record. Relief is being granted as far as possible,” he said.
To a query on why he chose the aerial route for assessing damage, Mr. Palaniswami said: “How many places did [DMK president] Stalin visit by road? Four districts have been affected completely. How can one walk and visit them?”
Relief cannot be granted after visiting just few places, he contended.
