Cyclone Vardah: Tamil Nadu CM sanctions Rs 500 crore for relief work

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam on Wednesday sanctioned disbursal of Rs 500 crore towards meeting reliefexpenses in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts in the aftermath of cyclone Vardah.

In a statement, Panneerselvam said the decision to release the funds was taken after a meeting with the chief secretary and other senior ministers in his cabinet at the Secretariat complex.

Of the Rs 500 crore, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board will receive Rs 350 crore. The Greater Chennai Corporation has been allotted Rs 75 crore while the relief fund to be distributed among the fishermen community has been pegged at Rs 10 crore.

The state highways department will receive Rs 25 crore while the public works department will get Rs 7 crore to repair damage to government buildings.

Rs 3 crore has been sanctioned to the health department while Aavin will get Rs 50 lakh to rectify damage in milk production units. The traffic police have been sanctioned Rs 5 crore to fit new traffic signals in place of the damaged ones while the forest department has been sanctioned Rs 2.50 crore to plant new trees in place of the fallen ones in the Vandalur zoo and other national parks.

MTC and district SETCs have been sanctioned Rs 2 crore to repair damage to buses.

The district administrations of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur will each receive Rs 10 crore in state relief funds.