Tech-driven flood compensation of Rs 602 crore delivered within 15 days: Andhra CM

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has disbursed Rs 602 crore to nearly four lakh people affected by the recent deluge here in 15 days from the date of the flood using technology-driven interventions, state chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Wednesday.

According to Naidu, the recent deluge was unlike any other natural calamity he has witnessed in the past, including cyclones, and the total damage has been pegged at Rs 7,600 crore, including public and private assets.

Unlike any other place in the country, Budameru floods and heavy rains victims in Vijayawada, who suffered severe losses were compensated with flood relief within 15 days, he said.

“Rs 602 crore has been deposited directly into the accounts as flood relief for up to four lakh people. Total damage has been pegged at Rs 7,600 crore, which included public and private assets,” said Naidu, addressing a press conference at NTR district collectorate.

As part of identifying the beneficiaries, the southern state used a tech-based solution on a hand-held device to manage the enumeration process, as 1,600 teams fanned into the affected areas for completing the exercise in three days.

Enumeration teams didn’t require the bank accunts of the victims as collecting their Aadhaar numbers alone sufficed the need to validate their bank account details, enabling the government to mobilise the funds to an online gateway and integrate the bank accounts of four lakh households through the UPI portal to make instant payments.

The compensation was successfully disbursed on Wednesday, within 15 days from the date of the flood. The flood-affected areas were accessible from September 10.

In the event of any leftover victims who are yet to receive the compensation, the CM said those cases will also be resolved to extend the financial aid by September 30.

Further, Naidu noted that the recent floods presented an opportunity for the government to handle calamities in a novel way by using drones, fire engines and other technological aids.

“Fire engines were used to clean over 75,000 houses, 330 km-long roads and also flush out sludge from the streets. This experience will be of immense utility to handle any future disasters of this kind,” said the CM, detailing other repair services extended to the victims.

Likewise, he also highlighted that the government asked the concerned insurance companies and banks to settle flood victims’ claims by September 30, along with rescheduling loans and extending loans up to Rs 50,000.

Similarly, officials were directed to replace lost driving licenses, vehicle registration documents and birth and death certificates, lost books to public and private school students, all free of cost.

While 74 people died in the recent floods, 1,562 livestock perished and 1.18 lakh houses suffered inundation. As many as 903 villages in 16 districts were affected.

In Vijayawada alone, the CM said 78,558 houses were flooded, out of which 64,799 first floor residences were also completely flooded.

According to the CM, 44,402 two-wheeler owners received flood relief of Rs 3,000 each and 4,348 autorickshaw owners Rs 10,000 each, among others.

Further, he informed that the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund has received contributions to the tune of Rs 400 crore. He underscored that donors responded enthusiastically to the relief efforts of the government machinery.

“… people have responded enthusiastically. Rs 400 crore came as donations to the CM Relief Fund, any other state wouldn’t have got this much. This is the highest,” claimed Naidu, addressing officials earlier.

According to the CM, people came forward to donate so much because of the sense of confidence created by the state government.

He said donors from the US had mobilised their relatives here to personally handover the cheques while some people also came in wheelchairs to donate.