The issue of heavy rain and floods in southern Tamil Nadu districts was raised in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on two Appropriation Bills on Tuesday. The Centre blamed the State government for not providing relief to people of the State.
In his brief intervention, AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai said Tamil Nadu witnessed heavy rain and floods and requested the Centre to sanction funds to help people of the State. Replying to this, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal pointed to the “abject failure” of the DMK government in the State in managing the crisis. He said the State government failed to provide relief, succour and rehabilitation to people reeling under the natural disaster.
The Rajya Sabha returned the Appropriation Bills to the Lok Sabha after a brief discussion amid ruckus by the Opposition demanding a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the breach of Parliament security.
The Lok Sabha had passed the Bills to approve additional spending of ₹ 58,378 crore in the current financial year. Replying to the debate, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the gross additional spending will be ₹ 1.29 lakh crore, out of which ₹70,968 crore will be matched by savings and receipts.
He said the additional expenditure includes ₹13,351 crore for fertilizer subsidies and about ₹7,000 crore towards food subsidies. He added that the other major allocations are for the energy sector and for rural schemes such as MGNREGS.
While ₹9,200 crore will be spent by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, ₹14,524 crore will be provided to the Rural Development Ministry towards MGNREGS. For External Affairs, the amount is ₹20,000 crore.
Members from the BJP, the AIADMK, the BJD, the YSRCP and the TDP participated in the debate.
