NEW DELHIH: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for special camps in four districts hit by floods to streamline insurance claims once the water recedes. She highlighted the success of a similar camp in Chennai following Cyclone Michaung and stated that similar efforts will be undertaken in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli, Toothukudi, Kanyakumari, and Tenkasi districts, which faced heavy rainfall resulting in flooding.

The minister emphasized that after the water subsides, insurance companies will organize special camps to swiftly settle claims arising from the flood-affected regions. Working under the General Insurance Council of India's guidance, 19 insurers recently conducted a camp on December 20-21 at the Ambattur Industrial Estate in Chennai, expediting claim settlements related to the cyclone.

Sitharaman mentioned that immediate settlements were facilitated after evaluating the impacted industrial units. She shared distressing statistics, reporting 31 fatalities across the four districts. Moreover, approximately 73,574 hectares of agricultural land and 35,796 hectares of horticulture were adversely affected due to the heavy rainfall recorded between December 16-19.

Addressing rescue efforts, Sitharaman highlighted that various forces have completed a total of 87 sorties in the flood-affected areas. The Central government has already disbursed Rs 900 crore as part of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to Tamil Nadu in two installments for use during this financial year. Additional assistance will be considered based on evaluations conducted by the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).

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