New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS): The Central government has approved the release of Rs 944.8 crore to the Tamil Nadu government as two installments of central share from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to help it provide relief to people affected by cyclone Fengal, the Home Ministry said in an official statement.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the government stands shoulder to shoulder with the states affected by natural calamities in mitigating the hardship faced by people, the statement said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the release of Rs 944.8 crore to the Tamil Nadu government as both the instalments of central share from the SDRF to help the state in providing relief assistance to people affected by cyclone Fengal on November 30, it said.

An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been sent to Fengal-affected Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused.

After the assessment reports of IMCTs are received, additional financial assistance from NDRF will be approved for the disaster-affected states as per the established procedure, the release said.

More than Rs 21,718.716 crore has already been released by the central government to 28 states during this year.

This includes Rs 14,878.40 crore from SDRF to 26 states, Rs 4,808.32 crore from NDRF to 18 states, Rs 1,385.45 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 11 states, and Rs 646.546 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to seven states.

In addition to financial assistance, the central government has also provided all logistic assistance, including deployment of requisite NDRF teams, Army teams, and Air Force support to all the flood and cyclone-affected states.

In a letter to the Centre on Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said Cyclone Fengal caused "unprecedented" devastation in the state and urged PM Modi to release Rs 2,000 crore interim relief from the NDRF as a single disbursal.

Stalin said that more than 69 lakh families and 1.5 crore individuals were severely affected by the calamity in northern Tamil Nadu districts like Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi.

The state government's initial assessment revealed that an estimated Rs 2,475 crore was required for temporary restoration efforts.

"Despite our best efforts, the scale of this disaster has overwhelmed the state’s resources, and the state needs urgent financial assistance to manage the fallout of this natural disaster," Stalin said in the letter.