Centre must declare destruction in southern districts a ‘National Disaster’, says Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin

Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin requests Union Govt. to declare unprecedented downpour in Tirunelveli & Thoothukudi as "National Disaster" & provide ₹2,000 crore relief.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday urged the Union Government to declare the destruction caused by the unprecedented downpour in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts as a ‘National Disaster’.

Addressing reporters after distributing relief materials here, Mr. Stalin said he, during the 20 minute-long meeting with Mr. Modi, had submitted a memorandum seeking ₹2,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in the first phase for carrying out relief and rehabilitation works in the flood-ravaged Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts.

Since the Finance Commission had fixed the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) as ₹1,600 crore for this fiscal, the Union government had given its share of ₹900 crore in two instalments. As this amount would not be sufficient for relief and rehabilitation activities and reconstruction of damaged buildings and roads, the Centre, after declaring the damage caused by the torrential rain as a ‘National Disaster’, should allocate ₹2,000 crore from the NDRF, he demanded.

“Even though I had requested the Prime Minister to declare this tragedy a ‘National Disaster, the Union Government is yet to do so. Hence, nothing has been received from the NDRF. Though the Centre did not provide sufficient funds, the Tamil Nadu government managed the Chennai flood with ₹1,500 crore and the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi one with ₹500 crore from its own funds,” Mr. Stalin said.

The Chief Minister said 10 Ministers and senior IAS and IPS officers had been deployed to oversee relief and rescue operations in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts, even as 375 State Disaster Response Force, 275 National Disaster Response Force personnel, and 168 Indian Army jawans were already in the field. A total of 12,653 people had been lodged in 141 relief camps with all basic facilities, which were being reviewed by the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary. Inaccessible villages have been identified, and relief materials will be supplied to these isolated hamlets.

Mr. Stalin also informed that more helicopters had been sought from the Ministry of Defence to supplement the eight choppers that were already involved in relief and rescue.

Assuring that the damage suffered by the people would be rightly compensated, he said the ex gratia for the loss of life due to the flood had been hiked from ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh and the compensation for crop loss increased from ₹13,500 to ₹17,000 per hectare. While the badly affected population of Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts will get ₹6,000 per ration card, people living in other taluks of these two districts and the people of Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts will get ₹1,000, he announced.