Stalin announces Rs 6,000 relief to Cyclone hit families thro PDS shops, hikes other compensations

Chennai, Dec 9 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday announced that Rs 6,000 each would be provided as relief to all the families affected by unprecedented floods triggered by Cyclone Michaung.

An official release said, Mr Stalin, taking into consideration the extensive damages caused by the Cyclone, also announced hiked compensation for loss of human lives, cattle damaged houses and crops and fishing boats and nets.

Mr Stalin said the Rs 6,000 relief amount will be distributed through fair price shops in all the affected areas.

A decision to provide relief and enhance the compensation as taken at a high level meeting chaired by Mr Stalin, his Cabinet colleageus and other officials at the State Secretariat.

As per the decision, the financial assistance would be increased from Rs four lakh to Rs five lakh

for those who lost their lives in the floods, besides increasing from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000, up from

Rs 5,000, the compensation amount for repairing damaged huts in the floods that battered Chennai

and three of its neighbouring districts–Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram on Sunday-Monday last–when the Cyclonic Storm came close to the North Tamil Nadu coast, before moving to Andhra Pradesh and made a landfall at Bapatla on Tuesday afternoon.

“Detailed guidelines will be issued very soon in this regard on identifying beneficiaries for financial relief”, the release said.

In a relief to the farmers, Mr.Stalin also hiked the compensation amount by Rs 3,500 from Rs 13,500 to Rs 17,000 for paddy crops per hectare, where more than 33% of the crops have been damaged, while the compensation for loss of perennial crops and trees per hectare would be increased to

Rs 22,500 from 18,000.

The compensation for loss of dry crops will be increased from Rs 7,410 to Rs 8,500 per hectare. The amount for loss of cos and buffaloes is hiked from Rs 30,000 to Rs 37,500, while the assistance for those who have lost goats and sheep has been increased to Rs 4,000 now from Rs 3,000.

For fishermen, the compensation for fully-damaged catamarans including nets, was hiked to Rs 50,000 from Rs 32,000, while for partly-damaged boats, the amount was hiked by /rs 5,000 from

Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.

The maximum grant for fully damaged vallam-type boats has been increased to Rs one lakh from

Rs 75,000 and fully-damaged mechanised boats will get a grant of Rs 7.5 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh. The compensation for damaged nets has been hiked by 50 per cent from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.

Mr Stalin while distribution of relief materials like milk powder, drinking water bottles, breads and biscuits in areas which are still waterlogged are continuing, works were also on on a war footing to drain out the stagnated water in waterlogged localities by the sanitary workers.

The Chief Minister also said more than 50 lakh food packets were given to flood hit people in Chennai and its three adjoining districts.