Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh requesting him to relax National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms to provide the actual cost of restoration of the entire power infrastructure caused by cyclone Fani.
Patnaik in the letter mentioned that the power infrastructure in cyclone-affected districts has been extensively damaged. “According to the present NDRF norms for the repair of damaged power sector, assistance is given for damaged conductors, poles and transformers up to the level of 11KV only. Even the scale of assistance for the admissible items is highly inadequate,” read the letter.
As per the preliminary report power infrastructure in the state incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 1160 crore. The loss includes damage to the transmission lines, grid substations, 33 KV poles, power transformers and primary substations.
“The transmission and distribution companies are not in a position to finance the restoration work. The state government has undertaken the restoration of power infrastructure on a war footing basis from its own resources. However the scale of damage to the power infrastructure is far too extensive to be taken care of by the state government alone,” stated the letter.
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Ms Kalinga