Andhra seeks Rs 6,000 cr advance fund for flood rehab

Andhra Pradesh today sought Rs 6,000 crore as an advance fund for the rehabilitation and restoration works in the state after heavy floods, which it wanted to be declared as a 'national calamity with rare severity'.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought the advance of Rs 6,000 crore for taking up the rehabilitation and restoration works in localities affected by the recent floods.

"We also asked the Centre to declare the recent floods as a national calamity with rare severity," he told reporters after the meeting.

He said the Centre has already released Rs 500 crore but the preliminary estimate of damages is pegged at Rs 12,225 crore.

During his meeting, Rosaiah also sought an additional Rs 53 crore for the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences.

Earlier, the projected outlay for the upgradation of the institute was pegged at Rs 120 crore, with the Centre providing Rs 100 crore.

However, he said, the revised estimates showed that there was an increase of Rs 53 crore. "I requested the Prime Minister to consider our request, which has been forwarded to Union Health Ministry," he said.