Tamil Nadu Minister for Sports Development and Youth Welfare Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Sunday, December 10 that the distribution of monetary compensation to flood victims will begin in a week. On December 9, Chief Minister MK Stalin had announced a sum of Rs 5 lakh as ex gratia to the families of those who lost their lives in the floods caused by Cyclone Michaung

Speaking to the press on December 10, Udhayanidhi said, “The compensation will be distributed within one week based on a token system. The tokens will be given at government ration shops. There’s waterlogging in some of these shops and some damage to property. Once that is fixed, the tokens will be given and the compensation will be distributed within a week after that.”

Relief and compensation from TN government

Apart from the Rs 5 lakh ex gratia, the state government has also announced that Rs 6,000 will be distributed to all those affected by the cyclone. The relief amount will be disbursed through PDS outlets.

For those who lost their huts, the relief amount has been set at Rs 8,000. For paddy cultivators who depend on lift irrigation systems and have suffered more than 33% damages will receive Rs 17,000 per hectare. Additionally, individuals who lost larger cattle like cows and buffaloes will receive Rs 37,500. For those who have lost goats, the compensation has been raised to Rs 4,000 from Rs 3,000.

Fishers whose boats and fishing nets were fully damaged will be entitled to Rs 50,000, while those who sustained partial damages will receive Rs 15,000.

Udhayanidhi also responded to allegations that the directions in the interim report of the Thiruppugazh Committee to the state government had not been properly implemented. “It is only because we implemented it that despite such heavy rains, power has been restored in three days and the water has drained as much as it has. The situation would have been worse otherwise,” he claimed.

Watch: ‘I don’t have money to bury my baby’: A desperate father affected by Chennai floods speaks