TG seeks immediate aid of ₹5,018 crore from Centre for flood relief work

HYDERABAD

The Telangana Government has requested the Central Government to extend immediate financial assistance of ₹5,018 crore enabling it to effectively take up relief and rehabilitation works pertaining to recent heavy rains that hit the State.

According to preliminary estimates, the State suffered huge losses of infrastructure pertaining to Municipal Administration (₹1,026 crore), Roads and Buildings (₹785.59 crore), Irrigation (₹655.70 crore), Panchayat Raj & Rural Development (₹377.43 crore) and crop loss of ₹236 crore. Accordingly, the government has said that there was an immediate requirement of ₹1,500 crore for emergency repairs and another ₹300 crore towards repairs for other properties and departments.

A delegation led by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and submitted a memorandum seeking the Central assistance to take up relief and rehabilitation measures. They urged the Union Home Minister to declare the recent heavy rains in Telangana as a national calamity and extend assistance accordingly. The Centre was requested to depute an official delegation to assess the losses, which the delegation said could rise as enumeration was still on.

The delegation explained that the rains severely damaged roads, railway tracks, culverts, electric poles, transformers, and other infrastructure, disrupting normal life across the state. The State Government mobilised all available resources to carry out relief measures.

Seven NDRF teams, fifteen SDRF teams, and around 100 Army personnel were actively engaged in rescue and relief operations. Field-level monitoring helped in minimising the loss of human lives, with preliminary estimates pegging the deaths at 22.

The Union Government was reminded that the State suffered losses of an estimated ₹11,713 crore during the heavy rains that lashed Khammam and adjoining districts. Though the Centre was requested to extend assistance, it had so far not released any amounts for the previous year’s losses. With the current losses, the total amount due to the State was in excess of ₹16,732 crore, and the Centre should immediately release the amounts so that relief and rehabilitation works could be accelerated.

Mr. Shah responded positively to the request. He assured that a Central inter-ministerial team would soon be deputed to Telangana to assess the damages.