Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy requested Union Home minister Amit Shah to refrain from tying central flood relief assistance to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and to release ₹11,713.49 crore for repairing infrastructure damaged by recent floods in Telangana.
The state had received only Rs 416 crore against an initial request of Rs 10,320 crore.
Additionally, Reddy asked Shah to allocate 29 more Indian Police Service (IPS) positions to Telangana, noting that only 76 officers were assigned during the state’s bifurcation.
He also called for a reassessment of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) allocations, specifically requesting the re-inclusion of Adilabad, Mancherial, and Kumaram Bheem Asifabad in the list of districts affected by left-wing extremism (LWE).
After attending a meeting with Amit Shah in New Delhi to discuss strategies for eliminating left-wing extremism (LWE), chief minister A Revanth Reddy held a separate discussion with him.
He detailed the extensive damage caused by heavy rains from August 31 to September 8, which resulted in 37 fatalities, the loss of over 100,000 cattle, and crop destruction across 4.15 lakh acres.
Roads, culverts, ponds, and canals were also significantly affected. Reddy reminded Shah that he had previously sent a letter on September 2 requesting an initial release of Rs 5,438 crore for repair efforts.
A central team assessed the damages and submitted a report on September 30, estimating total losses at Rs 11,713 crore.
However, he noted that the Centre has yet to release these funds, stating that the Rs 416 crore already allocated is insufficient for necessary repairs.
He urged Shah to expedite the release of the required funds for restoration efforts.
The Centre allocated Rs 416.80 crore to Telangana under the first and second phases of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Reddy emphasized that these funds for reconstruction and repair should not be tied to previous SDRF expenditures. He assured that the SDRF funds would be utilized within the current financial year.
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