Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will undertake an aerial assessment of the damage wreaked by cyclone Gaja in Pudukottai, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts on Tuesday and disburse aid to the affected people. After a meeting with officials on Monday, Palaniswami sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore for relief and restoration. The opposition had strongly criticized the CM for delaying his visit to the cyclone affected districts and reaching out to the affected people.The CM held a three-hour long discussion with his deputy O Panneerselvam, senior ministers, and heads of the department at the state secretariat to take stock of destruction left behind by the cyclone. Officials placed the death toll at 46. The government’s top priority now is to restore power supply. During the meeting, the revenue department made a presentation of the colossal damage, followed by concerns raised by agriculture, animal husbandry, health, revenue and housing departments besides municipal administration. “The CM will also hit the roads after assessing the damage via helicopter, along with deputy chief minister, chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and DGP T K Rajendran, to disburse aid at the relief centres,” a senior official said. At least 2.51 lakh people are housed in government relief centres.The CM will take a flight to Trichy on early Tuesday morning from where he would hop on to a chopper for the aerial assessment, sources said.Initial estimates indicate damage of agriculture and horticulture crop raised on 88,102 hectares of 12 districts. This included 32,706 hectares of paddy crop and 30,100 hectares of coconut trees. “The coconut farmers will be extended relief amount of Rs2.64 lakh per hectare, including replantation. Small and medium farmers will get subsidy of 100% for micro-irrigation and the rest 75%,” Palaniswami said, as part of the relief package announced by him. Damage to paddy, sugarcane, plantain, vegetable and flowers will be paid Rs13,500 per hectare, while cashew growers will get Rs18,000 per hectare. Compensation in the range of Rs100 to Rs30,000 will be extended for loss of cattle and poultry.

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