Punjab CM writes to PM Modi, seeks Rs 60,000 crore release from Centre as state battered by floods

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, on Sunday, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking urgent financial support to tackle one of the state's worst flood disasters in decades.

The floods, triggered by heavy monsoon rains and the release of dam waters, have impacted around 1,000 villages across seven districts -- "Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Hoshiarpur" -- leaving lakhs of people affected.

Chief Minister Mann highlighted that nearly "three lakh acres of farmland, primarily paddy fields, remain submerged under floodwater, leading to devastating crop losses just weeks before harvest".

The flood has also caused widespread livestock deaths, severely hitting rural households dependent on dairy and animal husbandry.

In his letter, the Chief Minister pointed out Punjab's financial strain, citing a permanent loss of Rs 49,727 crore in revenue due to GST transition, a reduction of Rural Development Fund and Mandi Development Fund amounting to more than Rs 8,000 crore, and the recent scrapping of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) projects worth Rs 828 crore.

Chief Minister Mann urged the Centre to immediately release Rs 60,000 crore in pending funds owed to Punjab.

He also criticised the existing compensation norms under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), calling them "grossly inadequate and unrealistic".

He noted that the current input subsidy of Rs 17,000 per hectare (about Rs 6,800 per acre) is too meagre compared to actual farmer losses.

"Paying such a petty amount would be a cruel joke with farmers," he wrote.

The Punjab government, he said, is already contributing an additional Rs 8,200 per acre, paying Rs 15,000 in total.

However, given that crops were almost ready for harvest, CM Mann demanded at least Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for affected farmers.

Urging the Prime Minister to revise SDRF norms, Mann assured that the state government would continue to bear 25 per cent of the compensation burden as mandated.

--IANS

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