Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Hyderabad, November 9
A day after Telangana accused the Central government of showing step-motherly treatment towards non-BJP ruled states, the Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday sent yet another request to the Centre to release Rs 5,279 crore as compensation for the restoration of infrastructure damaged due to heavy rains and floods in the state from August-October.
A central team that visited Andhra Pradesh to assess the damage met Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, who then told the visiting Inter-ministerial Central Team that the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 6,320.83 crore due flooding by Krishna and Godavari. She said a sum of Rs 5,279.11 crore was required immediately to get the state machinery back to work.
The central team is being led by Joint Secretary Saurav Ray, who assured the state of all possible help.
Andhra Pradesh has told the visiting delegation that Rs 840.07 crore was due to the state as per National Disaster Relief Fund norms and an amount of Rs 4,439.14 crore further required for permanent restoration of damaged infrastructure.
“Generous support by the Government of India, which is already in critical financial position due to Covid-19, would help the state,” the chief secretary said.
The floods in Godavari and Krishna rivers were caused due to incessant rains in upper catchment areas of the two river basins in Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides heavy rains in the state.
The visiting delegation was told that 8,784 houses were fully damaged in the affected districts while a large number of cattle were also killed, besides agriculture crops like paddy, maize, cotton, black gram, pulses and sugarcane, suffered damage in over 2,12,588 hectares. The maximum damage has been suffered by paddy in about 1, 40,485 hectares.
Telangana had alleged on Sunday that despite a central team visiting the state and President, Prime Minister and Governors asking about the damage caused had not sent any amount to the state for relief and rehabilitation. The state has on its own released a relief package of over Rs 500 crore.
Officials in Andhra Pradesh said they were hoping that the state does not meet the same fate as Telangana in terms of being ignored for a relief package. 
