Cyclone Fengal: Centre grants Rs 944 crore to Tamil Nadu as relief

New Delhi: Weeks after Cylone Fengal that wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu, the central government has granted Rs 944.80 crore to the southern state for relief activities. The Union Home Ministry has approved the release of the fund to the Tamil Nadu government as two instalments of central share from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the government stands shoulder to shoulder with the states affected by natural calamities in mitigating the hardship faced by people, an official release said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given nod to the release of Rs 944.80 crore to the Tamil Nadu government as both the instalments of central share from the SDRF to help the state in providing relief assistance to people affected by cyclone Fengal on November 30, it said.

An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) will visit the Fengal-affected Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused. After the assessment reports of IMCTs are received, additional financial assistance from NDRF will be approved for the disaster-affected states as per the established procedure, the release said.

More than Rs 21,718.716 crore has already been released by the central government to 28 states during this year. This includes Rs 14,878.40 crore from SDRF to 26 states, Rs 4,808.32 crore from NDRF to 18 states, Rs 1,385.45 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 11 states and Rs 646.546 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to seven states.

Apart from financial assistance, the central government has also provided all logistic assistance, including deployment of requisite NDRF teams, Army teams and Air Force support to all the flood and cyclone-affected states.