Odisha has submitted a preliminary damage assessment of Rs 2,526 crore to a visiting Central team and sought Rs 10,000 crore to build infrastructure capable of withstanding future cyclones and floods, state special relief commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said.
The proposed resilience package will focus on strengthening irrigation infrastructure, bridges and roads, following damage caused by Cyclone Arnab and subsequent flooding. The Central team visited affected areas in Ganjam and Gajapati districts to assess the scale of destruction before meeting Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Lok Seva Bhawan.
Patil said the Rs 2,526-crore figure was a preliminary estimate and that the extent of damage was still being evaluated. He said the Central team had been convinced that Odisha had suffered large-scale damage under extraordinary circumstances.
The team, led by Union Home Ministry joint secretary Ravi Shankar, inspected areas affected by the floods during its visit. In Ganjam, floodwaters from the Rushikulya river deposited large quantities of sand across agricultural land, roads, houses, offices and other locations, Shankar said.
Several houses had not collapsed but were weakened by the flooding, according to Shankar. He also identified long-term desilting of the Rushikulya river as an issue requiring attention and said a comprehensive assessment of the damage would take seven to eight days.
The state’s separate request for Rs 10,000 crore shifts the focus beyond immediate relief and restoration. According to Patil, the proposal is intended to create permanent infrastructure that can reduce damage during disasters of a similar magnitude in the future. The request covers assets that are essential to everyday connectivity, water management and access to affected settlements.
Majhi told the Central team that recurring floods, cyclones and heatwaves were affecting Odisha’s development. He asked the team to consider not only assistance for immediate relief and reconstruction but also long-term mitigation measures.
The Chief Minister said Odisha urgently needed cyclone- and flood-resilient infrastructure to minimise damage from recurring disasters and prevent development projects from being repeatedly disrupted. The statement places the proposed funding request within a broader state effort to protect public infrastructure from repeated climate and disaster shocks.
The Central team’s assessment will inform the next stage of assistance and reconstruction discussions. Its detailed evaluation is expected to take seven to eight days, while the state’s preliminary damage estimate remains subject to further assessment.
