Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who had earlier announced Rs 1000 crore for immediate relief and rehabilitation works in areas affected by Cyclone Gaja, today made more announcements. Replying to a special calling attention motion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, he said three lakh houses would be constructed in the cyclone affected districts. He also said the relief package for people who lost their boats during cyclone Gaja will be increased from Rs 85,000 to 1.50 lakh.
Giving details on the work done by the government led by him, he said, "a total of 81,948 people were made to stay in 471 camps during the cyclone Gaja, which helped in saving a lot of lives." He said that power supply has been restored in almost all areas affected by the cyclone. Recently, the central government allocated Rs 1146 crore for Gaja cyclone relief, as against the demanded amount of Rs 15,000 crore.
The Centre approved the release of Rs 1,146 crore to Tamil Nadu for the people affected by cyclone Gaja, which had claimed 46 lives and left a trail of destruction in over 10 districts in the state. The approval for the financial assistance was given at a high level committee chaired by home minister Rajnath Singh. According to a statement from the Home Ministry, the high level committee approved the additional assistance of Rs 1,146.12 crore to Tamil Nadu from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Earlier on December 3, the Centre had released Rs 353.70 crore as an interim relief, in order to support the affected people of Tamil Nadu.
