Central team to visit Tamil Nadu to assess cyclone damage

The team, headed by Praveen Vashistha, Joint Secretary (LWE), in the Home Ministry, will be accompanied by senior officials of Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, Rural Development, Industries, HRD etc., and will visit different cyclone-hit districts of the state, official sources said. The delegation will assess the damage caused by the cyclone to agriculture, industries, infrastructure and other sectors and submit its report to the Central government. 

On the basis of the report, the central government will fix the compensation amount and provide financial assistance to the state concerned, sources said. At least 18 people were killed when cyclone Vardah hit Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on December 12. The cyclone, that triggered strong winds of nearly 100 kmph, uprooted hundreds of trees and disrupted power supply lines besides land and air transport, throwing normal life out of gear.

OPS to also press for Bharat Ratna for Jayalalithaa

Days after he urged the Centre to grant Rs 1,000 crore for cyclone relief operations in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to press the demand. 

Besides, Panneerselvam will give a memorandum on several other demands of Tamil Nadu to the Prime Minister, the release said adding he will return to Chennai the same day. He will also urge the Centre to posthumously confer ‘Bharat Ratna’ on former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and to put up her life size bronze statue in Parliament complex, an official release said. 

The first Cabinet meeting chaired by Panneerselvam on December 10 had adopted a resolution in which the twin matters of the highest civilian award and a statue for Jayalalithaa figured. Earlier on Sunday, the Chief Minister met TN Governor Vidyasagar Rao at the Raj Bhavan. While a press communique state that it was a courtesy visit, sources said that the CM had briefed the Governor on his Delhi visit. 

A Cabinet reshuffle is also likely as CM’s Raj Bhavan visits are usually associated with shuffling of ministers. On December 13, a day after the cyclone wreaked havoc in the state, Panneerselvam had urged Modi in a letter to sanction Rs 1,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund to the state for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction. After he took over as Chief Minister on December 6, it will be the first visit of Panneerselvam to the PM in Delhi and he is expected to follow up on the previous memorandums submitted to Modi by his predecessor Jayalalithaa.