Arun Jaitley offers to help Tamil Nadu

 

Mr Jaitley met the Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her officials at the secretariat. Thanking the finance minister and the Centre for extending the relief and assistance, the CM requested him to release Rs 2,000 crores immediately to expedite flood restoration work in Tamil Nadu.

 

Ms Jayalalithaa apprised Mr Jaitley about the calamity of unprecedented magnitude that struck the coastal districts Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Cuddalore. She also pointed out the damage due to rain in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts.

 

She also emphasised that Tamil Nadu’s requirement was much larger and that the Government was preparing a supplementary memorandum detailing the devastation caused after November 23 when the first memorandum estimating the requirements at Rs 8,481 crore rupees was presented, which will be ready shortly.

 

 

When asked by reporters whether he discussed the GST Bill with her, he replied, “The principal purpose of the visit has been to assist (TN) in terms of the recent natural calamity and our emphasis has been on that.” Senior ministers O. Panneerselvam, M.C. Sampath, chief secretary K. Gnanadesikan and finance secretary K. Shanmugham also attended the high level meeting.   

 

 

A large number of areas need attention, so too do people require assistance to stand on their own, the minister said. He said besides damage to articles in homes, vehicles, shops, small establishments and big industries too suffered damage. He was in the city on Sunday to distribute aid to rain-affected persons. 

 

“Therefore a large number of areas require assistance to stand up on their own. Banks have been told to extend assistance under various schemes available with them,” he said distributing '42.07 crore aid to about 1,223 flood-affected persons in Chennai and neighbouring districts. The extent of damage due to fury was beyond human capacity to defy them. 

 

“The immediate challenge is to provide relief, saving human lives and to provide basics for livelihood…Banks will make sure that assistance is provided, that tear is wiped off from every eye and society starts running back to normalcy than limping back,” he stressed.

 

Insurance companies have set up 176 centres in four flood affected districts and all claims have to be settled “expeditiously.” Banks, which have large network in the affected districts would also be make available soft loans so that people return to normal life in this hour of crisis, he said. 

 

State finance minister O. Panneerselvam, finance secretary K. Gnanadesikan and top officials from the public sector, the Indian Bank MD and CEO, Mahesh Kumar Jain and IOB MD and CEO, R. Kotteeswaran were present.

 

 

The December deluge was a lesson for India to learn from and to become an insured society in future, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley stated. “The city and districts have faced greatest challenges of nature. The fury of nature we have seen in the last few weeks is almost unprecedented.… you cannot prevent the disaster, but subsequently you plan that there is a much better quality of life,” he said. In terms of infrastructure and what had caused havoc due to massive inundation, governments would  have to take steps in such a manner that systems are strengthened to put back the society to stand on its own feet. In the long term, people have to be able to stand on their own. And it is here where the financial institutions could play a role that India must become an insured society, he said while pointing out that the country is less insured now.