Flood relief grossly inadequate, says Tamil Nadu; seeks Rs 3,000 crore for restoration work

CHENNAI: State Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Saturday termed the Rs 276 crore allocated by the Union government for the recent floods in the State as grossly inadequate and urged it to immediately allocate Rs 3,000 crore to Tamil Nadu in the upcoming budget to undertake necessary restoration works.

Submitting the State’s wish list in the pre-budget meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, Thennarasu pointed out that Tamil Nadu witnessed two massive natural disasters in quick succession last year, causing a significant strain on the State’s finances.

“The releases from the National Disaster Relief Fund are legitimate dues to the states and I implore the Union government to release adequate funds to disaster-affected states. I request the Union government to allocate a sum of Rs 3,000 crore to Tamil Nadu to undertake necessary restoration works in the upcoming budget,” Thennarasu submitted.

Referring to the two detailed memoranda submitted by the State outlining the extent and magnitude of disasters and seeking a disaster relief of around Rs 37,906 crore, Thennarasu referred to the Rs 276 crore released by the Centre and said, “Given the magnitude of the disasters and the colossal damage caused to the infrastructure and livelihoods of people, this compensation is grossly inadequate and is a grave injustice to Tamil Nadu.”

He also urged the Union government to immediately sanction Rs 63,246 crore funds for Chennai Metro Rail phase-II as originally envisaged, and ensure that adequate provisions were made in the Union Budget 2024-25 for the project, which is awaiting the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for the last three years.

The delay in approval was making a severe impact on the State’s finances and has slowed the pace of implementation of this project, causing hardships to the people of Chennai, he added.