Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to relax NDRF norms to provide for actual cost of restoration of the entire power infrastructure damaged by extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani.
In a letter to the Home Minister, the Odisha CM said, "The power infrastructure in the district of Puri and parts of other districts has been extensively damaged by Fani... As per the present NDRF norms for repair of damaged power sector, assistance is given for damaged conductors, poles and transformers up to the level of 11 KV only and the scale of assistance for the admissible items is highly inadequate."
"Besides large scale damage to 11 KV lines, distribution transformers and LT network admissible for repair and restoration under NDRF norms, extensive damage has also been caused to 220 KV / 132 KV towers and transmission lines, grid sub-stations and power transformers and 33 KV poles, lines and primary sub-stations," the CM wrote in his letter.
Citing the preliminary report, the Chief Minister wrote that, the extent of damage due to Fani is estimated to be about Rs 1160 crore.
" The transmission and distribution companies are not in a position to finance the restoration work. The state government has undertaken restoration of power infrastructure on war-footing from its own resources," the letter read.
Citing that the scale of damage to the power infrastructure is far too expensive to be taken care of by the state government alone, Patnaik requested the Union Minister to relax NDRF norms to provide for inadmissible damages.