Though the Union government had not allocated sufficient funds over the damage that the State incurred due to the floods last year, the Tamil Nadu government had distributed a relief of ₹6,000 to each of the affected families, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
He was responding to AIADMK legislator R.B. Udhayakumar, who had asked why the DMK and its allies, with 38 members elected from the State in the Lok Sabha, were unable to get the Centre to sanction funds for the flood-induced damage in Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts.
Mr. Thennarasu said that the DMK government “did not remain quiet by giving the excuse that the Union government had not granted funds”. Instead, it granted a relief of ₹6,000 each to the affected people on Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s direction. Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami, too, joined the discussion and recalled that the previous AIADMK regime had granted compensation to the affected people in the aftermath of ‘Gaja’ cyclone.
He said that protest by the AIADMK MPs over the Cauvery issue had stalled Parliament proceedings for 22 days. When Mr. Udhayakumar criticised the DMK government over lack of preparations to tackle the rain, Minister P.K. Sekarbabu listed the steps taken by the government.
Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar questioned the AIADMK over the indiscriminate release of water from Chembarambakkam lake in 2015. Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru said that the Kosasthalaiyar project, once completed in August this year, would help ameliorate the flooding in the State. Health Minister Ma. Subramanian recalled the steps taken by the previous DMK regime, during 2006 and 2011, towards flood mitigation.
‘Inadequate funds’
Earlier, during another discussion, BJP legislator Nainar Nagenthiran objected to DMK legislator R. Rajendran’s charge that the Centre had not sanctioned sufficient funds to Tamil Nadu. Mr. Nagenthiran said: “It is often claimed that for every ₹1 that Tamil Nadu gave, it received ₹0.29 from the Centre. That is untrue.” Speaker M. Appavu asked him whether he had proof to substantiate the claim.
