Centre gave ₹6,600cr in three months to TN for fighting virus, says FM

Centre gave ₹6,600cr in three months to TN for fighting virus, says FM

Govardan.D@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  26.06.2020

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Centre has given ₹6,600 crore to Tamil Nadu for buying medical equipment and accessories for fighting Covid-19. Her announcement has come as a surprise as chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has been repeatedly urging the Centre to release funds to help the state fight the pandemic.

“We have given ₹6,600 crore to TN for buying ventilators, medical equipment and accessories including masks. This has been given to the state so far in the first three months of this financial year,” Nirmala Sitharaman told a virtual rally organized for BJP workers in Tamil Nadu from New Delhi about achievements of the BJP government’s first year in its second term. I have not heard those numbers (₹6,600 crore), a senior state finance department official told TOI.

CM’s relief fund got ₹378cr: EPS

Since I did not listen to what Nirmala Sitharaman spoke at the rally, it will be difficult for me to comment on that,” he said.

Sitharaman’s announcement though could set off a political debate in the state, the CM in a statement on June 7 had said the state government has sanctioned ₹4,333 crore towards efforts to fight the pandemic. In addition, CM’s Relief Fund received ₹378.96 crore from corporates and individuals among others, Palaniswami has said.

In her address at the virtual rally, Sitharaman also said that 1.22 crore women in Tamil Nadu have received ₹610 crore at ₹500 a month for April and May directly through their Jan Dhan accounts. Since the lockdown, around 47,000 MSMEs in Tamil Nadu received ₹1,937 crore as “emergency credit” loan to restart their operations, while an additional ₹4,352 crore has been sanctioned to MSMEs under the collateral free credit guarantee scheme, she said.