Kumar Bahukhandi
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has urged Union home minister Amit Shah to expedite the release of Rs 11,713.49 crore for flood relief and restoration works in Telangana.
Revanth Reddy made this appeal during his meeting with Shah in Delhi on Monday October 7 , where he stressed on the urgent need for financial assistance to repair infrastructure damaged by the devastating floods caused by heavy rains between August 31 and September 8.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister highlighted the damage caused by the floods, which resulted in the death of 37 people, killed over one lakh cattle, and destroyed crops across 4.15 lakh. In addition, roads, culverts, causeways, lakes, and canals across the state were severely impacted. Revanth Reddy stressed that immediate restoration work was necessary to avoid further losses and disruptions.
The Chief Minister reminded Shah that he had already written a letter on September 9, requesting the Central government to release Rs 5,438 crore for initial repair works. Following a Central team’s assessment of the damage, which submitted its report on September 30, the estimated total damage was pegged at Rs 11,713.49 crore. However, he said no funds had been released yet, making it difficult for the state government to proceed with essential reconstruction activities.
The Chief Minister also acknowledged that while Rs 416.80 crore had been released by the Centre recently under the first and second phases of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2024-25, these funds were inadequate for the current relief efforts. He appealed to Amit Shah to delink the SDRF allocations from the necessary funds for flood rehabilitation, urging that the full amount for infrastructure restoration be made available immediately.
He also urged Shah to actively assist in resolving the long-pending issues related to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
