Tauktae relief to be given on lines of Nisarga aid: CM

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said those affected by cyclone Tauktae will be compensated on the lines of the relief extended to people following cyclone Nisarga last year.

Last Friday, Thackeray visited Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts to assess the damage caused by the cyclone and interacted with the villagers. During his visit, the CM had said that the relief would be announced after assessing the damage and all affected people would be covered under its purview.

An official said the proposal to give a relief package to the cyclone-affected people is expected to come up in a state cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“The estimated amount of relief package as per the existing norms is around Rs 75 crore, but it is likely to be over Rs 200 crore as per the increased compensation to be given on the lines of Nisarga cyclone,” said an official from the relief and rehabilitation department.

For cyclone Nisarga, the compensation was increased by three times from the existing norms. The relief package went up from Rs 268 crore to Rs 722 crore, added the official.

Department officials said crops and orchards on around 11,000 hectares of land in over 4,000 villages were damaged in the Konkan region. Around 42,000 houses were partially damaged and close to 2,000 schools and government buildings were destroyed.

Also, around 5,000 electric poles were damaged, said an official.  After cyclone Nisarga hit the coastal districts last year, the state had changed the existing norms to increase the compensation to Rs 15,000 per house for the partially damaged houses from Rs 6,000, as per the existing National Disaster Response Fund norms.

For perennial crops, the compensation was increased to Rs 50,000 per hectare from Rs 18,000 per hectare. Besides, cash compensation for losses of household material, like clothes and utensils, was increased to Rs 10,000 from Rs 5,000.