Chennai, Dec 7 (NationPress) An inter-ministerial team from the Centre has initiated a thorough assessment of the destruction caused by Cyclone Fengal in multiple districts of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The government of Tamil Nadu has presented an initial evaluation report estimating a requirement of Rs 2,475 crore for relief efforts.

Chief Minister Stalin previously requested Rs 2,000 crore in interim assistance.

The Centre has already approved Rs 944 crore as interim aid for the regions affected by flooding.

The assessment team will carry out its surveys over the weekend.

The group, which arrived in Chennai on Friday evening, met with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the state secretariat.

Under the leadership of Rajesh Gupta, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the team convened with senior state officials to finalize the locations for inspection.

Other members of the team include K. Ponnusamy (Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare), Sonamani Haobam (Union Ministry of Finance), R. Saravanan (Union Ministry of Jal Shakti), Dhanapalan Kumaran (Union Ministry of Road Transport), Rahul Bachkheti (Union Ministry of Power), and Balajee K.M. (Union Ministry of Rural Development).

After the meeting, the team is scheduled to survey the districts of Villupuram, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri starting Saturday.

Given that Cyclone Fengal has impacted 14 districts, with at least half suffering severe damage, the central team is anticipated to divide into three or four groups for an efficient assessment.

The team will also examine the Union Territory of Puducherry, which has experienced substantial harm to its infrastructure and agricultural lands.

In preparation for this visit, Puducherry District Collector A. Kulothungan summoned a meeting at the Collectorate, directing officials to compile detailed damage reports.

Cyclone Fengal has directly affected 1.5 crore people across 14 districts, displacing 69 lakh families and resulting in 40 fatalities.

Moreover, 3,000 head of cattle and 2.5 lakh poultry were lost.

Heavy rains exceeding 50 centimeters in a single day have inundated several districts, including Villupuram, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi.

Additional affected locations include Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Ranipet, and Krishnagiri.

The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) serves as the main funding source for states responding to disasters.

The Union government contributes 75 percent of the SDRF allocation for general category states and 90 percent for special category states and union territories (such as the Northeastern states, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir).

According to Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) supplements the SDRF in extreme disaster cases when the SDRF is insufficient.

However, states are required to submit utilization certificates before receiving further allocations.