COVID-19: TN CM Palaniswami pitches for Central support

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant Rs 9,000 crore, nod for additional borrowing, easing fiscal deficit threshold and funding for buying ventilators during his meet with him via videoconference to tackle coronavirus. Palaniswami, in the second such meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss ways to check the spread of coronavirus with all Chief Ministers, detailed his government's steps in treating the infected, scaling up infrastructure and plans in place to mitigate the hardship of people.

All the 309 coronavirus positive people were being treated in isolation on a war footing and an active containment plan was being executed in all locations where infected people were identified to halt the further spread of the pathogen, he said. "As many as 22,000 isolation beds, 5,934 ICU beds in government and private sector so far," he said.

Also, he detailed the medical college hospitals dedicated for COVID-19 treatment, expansion of testing facilities to 11 in government and six in private sector, appointment of 530 doctors, 1,000 nurses and 1,508 lab technicians besides sourcing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for use by personnel. The Chief Minister, flagging Tamil Nadu's wish list said supply of test kits should be increased and the State had already requested Rs 3,000 crore for its procurement plan which includes buying ventilators, PPEs and N-95 respirators.

"Tamil Nadu may be allocated 9,000 crore rupees, as requested earlier," he said. As a one-time measure, the fiscal deficit limits of three per cent of GSDP may be relaxed for financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21, he said.

To meet the additional expenditure arising due to this pandemic, additional borrowing of 33 per cent above the permitted level for 2019-20 fiscal, may be allowed for 2020- 21. Grants due in 2020-21 may be released in advance and those for the National Health Mission could be disbursed immediately, he said.

A Rs 3,280 crore relief package was sanctioned by him to provide Rs 1,000 to each ration card holder along with free commodities of 15 kg rice, 1 kg dhal, 1 kg sugar and 1 litre of cooking oil, he said. Migrant labourers stranded in Tamil Nadu were being provided stay and free rations. "A total 153 camps have been set up, housing 11,957 migrant workers, who are being provided with hot cooked food and medical facilities," he told the Prime Minister.

State-run low cost eatery chain "Amma Canteens" are functioning across Tamil Nadu to provide meals at subsidised rates. The Chief Minister said public health and disaster management laws have been invoked and lockdown measures were in place which includes imposition of curbs under Section 144 of CrPc and suspension of inter-state road transport.

As many as 110 new cases were reported in 15 districts of the State on April 1 bringing the total count to 234. Health and Revenue Ministers C Vijayabaskar and R B Udhayakumar respectively, top officials including Chief Secretary K Shanmugam, Director General of Police, J K Tripathy were also present when Palaniswami deliberated with Modi from the Secretariat at Fort St George here.

In Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and top bureaucrats were present along with the Prime Minister. This is for the second time the prime minister is holding a video conference with the chief ministers after the spread of coronavirus, and the first after the 21-day lockdown came into force.

The lockdown was enforced on March 24. According to the union health ministry, death toll due to coronavirus touched 50 on Thursday.

Total number of positive cases has risen to 1,965 in the country.PTI VGN SS PTI PTI.