Madras High Court refuses to interfere with distribution of Michaung relief in cash

Madras High Court refuses to interfere with State govt's decision to disburse ₹6,000 cash relief to those affected by Cyclone Michaung.

The Madras High Court on Friday refused to interfere with the decision taken by the State government to disburse cash relief of ₹6,000 to those affected on account of heavy rains and inundation due to Cyclone Michaung in Chennai and its surroundings early this month.

Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy said it was very important on the part of the State to provide immediate relief to people who had lost their belongings and whose livelihood had been affected due to the floods.

The judges said they would not want to pass any interim orders on two public interest litigation petitions, which had insisted on increasing the relief amount besides making the payment only through bank transfer without resorting to cash distribution.

Stating that any interim order to be passed by the court in the two cases might delay the grant of relief to the people, the judges asked the State government to file a status report on January 5, 2024 after ensuring the relief reaches the needy.

The government had decided to pay the cash relief to the affected families in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvalllur and Chengalpattu districts which witnessed incessant rain on December 4 due to the cyclone and consequent flooding for a few more days.

While it had been decided to pay the relief in cash to those who had lost their belongings due to inundation, the others had been asked to provide their bank details for transferring the money to their accounts after due verification regarding flooding in their localities.