Palaniswami meets PM, seeks funds

TAMIL NADU Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and sought his urgent attention on 23 crucial issues relating to Tamil Nadu, including Cauvery water and central aid for drought relief.

On the Cauvery issue, Palaniswami said that a pressing issue is immediate constitution of the Cauvery Management Board in accordance with the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. He urged Modi to ensure that the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee are constituted immediately in accordance with that order.

Palaniswami also briefed Modi on the prevailing drought situation in Tamil Nadu, for which the state is seeking Rs 39,565 crore from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation measures. A central team had visited Tamil Nadu last month to make an on-spot assessment.

The CM requested early release of funds, and immediate release of Rs 2,500 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund. He requested the Prime Minister to direct insurance companies to ensure that insurance claims on crop losses are paid out within three weeks of submitting the yield estimates, based on crop cutting experiments.