The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Jayalalithaa's charge against Chidambaram

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Jayalalithaa's charge against Chidambaram

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Tuesday criticised Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for exaggerating the Centre's assistance towards tsunami relief and rehabilitation. In a statement, she said a major portion of the Rs. 2,678.37 crore-relief amount had been provided as loan by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Only a part of the ADB's aid was grant while the remaining was given as loan. When the Tamil Nadu Government repaid these international funding agencies, the Centre did not provide a single rupee as grant, she claimed. "Did Mr. Chidambaram say that the Centre would repay the loan?"

The Centre had promised Rs. 2,347.19 crore as assistance. Of this, only Rs. 820.31 crore had been released. However, Mr. Chidambaram had falsely claimed that the Centre had provided Rs. 5,025.56 crore as assistance, she said.

As for flood relief, against the Rs. 13,685 crore sought by the State, the Centre had sanctioned only Rs. 1,000 crore. At present, the amount had further reduced to Rs. 808.35 crore, she added.

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