Mamata govt pegs Amphan losses at over `1 lakh crore

Report handed over to Centre’s team

The Mamata Banerjee government has pegged the extent of devastation due to super cyclone Amphan in West Bengal to over `one lakh crore in its report submitted to the inter-ministerial Central team (IMCT) at the end of its two-day visit to the state’s two worst-affected districts, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas, for damage assessment.

The report, handed over to the seven-member IMCT led by Union home ministry’s joint secretary (cyber and information security) Anuj Sharma during its meeting with state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha and other officials at the state secretariat on Saturday, puts the total financial loss at `1,02,442 crore which includes `28,560 crore for the damage of 28.56 lakh houses.

It also estimates `26,790 crore loss and damage to industries, including MSME sector covering warehouses, raw materials, industrial infrastructure and sheds. Among others are `15,860 crore for the damage of 17 lakh hectares of agriculture land crops, which included paddy, moong, til, jute, groundnut, sugarcane, maize and cotton.

While the damage in urban infrastructure is estimated at `6,750 crore, `6,581 crore account for the loss in horticulture, followed by `3,230 crore of damage in the power sector. The TMC government’s compilation of the monumental financial loss comes after its dissatisfaction with the Centre’s release of `1,000 crore as relief fund to the state.