New Delhi, December 27
The Union Cabinet tonight decided to provide Rs 500 crore from the National Calamity Contingency Fund for immediate relief to the tsunami-affected southern states and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here also decided to provide assistance to the affected states on the lines of the relief provided to Orissa following the super-cyclone of 1999.

After the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that Andaman and Nicobar Islands, hit by the quake and tidal waves, would be considered separately for providing funds.

He said a Cabinet Committee had been constituted under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to monitor the rescue and relief operations in the tsunami-hit states.

The committee will meet twice a day to monitor and give directions on the rehabilitation measures. In the absence of the Prime Minister, the senior-most Cabinet Minister present in the Capital would chair the committee meeting.

With the extent of damage in Nicobar Island expected to be “very high”, the Union Home Ministry is being authorised to make a special assessment for the island, he said.

Keeping out Car Nicobar, where the number is expected to be “quite high”, the preliminary toll in other affected areas is close to more than 4,000, he said.

Further, the Home Ministry has been authorised to provide assistance to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from its own funds, which would be replenished later.

The Cabinet directed the Home Ministry to prepare a special rehabilitation plan for Nicobar group of islands which has been worst affected by the killer tsunami wave.

All the Ministers at the Centre would contribute their one-month salary to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The Cabinet also appealed to all Central Government employees to contribute their one-day salary.

Mr Chidambaram said the Prime Minister had already announced a sum of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of those killed.

The Finance Minister said though offer of assistance had come from three to four countries, the government felt that it was capable of mobilising the resources and manpower to meet the situation now.

On the housing front, the Centre has advised the state governments to come forward with a proposal to provide housing to those who have lost their shelter, especially fishermen and those residing on the water front under the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), he said.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry today sent an urgent message to various states to arrange relief material for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and other southern states, which were hit by a killer tsunami yesterday leaving thousands dead and homeless.

An official spokesman said the Home Ministry, which is co-ordinating the relief and rescue efforts, has asked Orissa, Kerala and Gujarat for food and essential items.

Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have also been requested to arrange for relief material, the spokesman said.

Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi, who reviewed the situation at the Crises Management group meeting, has instructed all ministries and departments concerned to provide the necessary logistic support to the affected states and union territories, the spokesman said.

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operations in Andaman and Nicobar Islands where relief operations were being carried out through air and ships.

The worst affected islands were Car Nicobar and Great Nicobar which were totally cut off due to extensive inundation. Communication links and water supply had been disrupted in these areas, he said adding relief items were being airlifted from Tambaram Airport.

Besides this two AN-32 aircraft and one IL-76 with relief material were leaving from Bhuj and Ahmedabad. Two specialised teams in Medical First Responder (MFR) — one each from ITBP and CISF — have been flown to Car Nicobar.

Eight Satellite phones were also airlifted to the island today, he said and added that the Health Ministry had deputed a five-member team consisting physicians and public health experts with emergency medical stores to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Island bore the major brunt of tsunami waves and two jetties of Coast Guard and one civilian jetty had been damaged and submerged. The Port Blair runway had developed cracks and only 5,000 ft were useable.