Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann seeks ₹60,000 cr in pending dues, higher flood relief from Centre

With Punjab facing one of the worst flood disasters in decades, chief minister Bhagwant Mann wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, requesting the release of ₹60,000 crore of pending funds from the central government and a revision of norms for compensation to farmers and others from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)

Chandigarh : With Punjab facing one of the worst flood disasters in decades, chief minister Bhagwant Mann wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, requesting the release of ₹60,000 crore of pending funds from the central government and a revision of norms for compensation to farmers and others from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

With Punjab facing one of the worst flood disasters in decades, chief minister Bhagwant Mann wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, requesting the release of ₹60,000 crore of pending funds from the central government and a revision of norms for compensation to farmers and others from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

He proposed raising the crop loss compensation from the existing ₹15,000 per acre to ₹50,000 per acre.

In his letter, the CM informed the Prime Minister that lakhs of people in around 1,000 villages have been affected, and about 3-lakh acres of farmland, primarily paddy fields, are submerged under floodwaters in districts, including Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Hoshiarpur. This has led to devastating crop losses just weeks before harvest. He added that there has been widespread loss of livestock, severely impacting rural households whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on dairy and animal husbandry.

Mann requested Modi to release Punjab’s funds totalling ₹60,000 crore that are “stuck” with the Government of India, as the state is facing a tough time. He claimed that this includes an estimated permanent revenue loss of ₹49,727 crore on account of implementation of GST and the transition from the VAT regime for which no compensation has been provided by the central government, ₹8,000 crore loss on account due to the reduction of RDF and MDF in recent years, and scrapped PMGSY projects worth ₹828 crore.

On the revision of compensation of losses, he said while substantial funds are available in the SDRF, the norms prescribed under the guidelines of the Union home ministry remain grossly inadequate to compensate farmers, livestock owners and vulnerable communities for the scale of their losses. “The notified norms are totally unrealistic as compared to actual losses suffered by the farmers,” he wrote, citing the example of input subsidy where crop loss is 33% and above is compensated at ₹17,000 per hectare, which translates into ₹6,800 per acre.

The CM said the state government contributes additional ₹8,200 per acre and pays ₹15,000 per acre to the farmers. “Since the crops were almost at the harvesting stage, at least ₹50,000 per acre should be paid to the farmer. The norms should be revised,” he said, assuring that the state government will continue to contribute 25% as per the scheme. He also proposed doubling the ex gratia payment for loss of life to the next of kin from ₹4 lakh per person to ₹8 lakh per person, and for loss of limb or eye from ₹2.5 lakh per person to ₹5 lakh per person when the disability is more than 60%.

In addition, the state government has proposed raising financial assistance for the loss of milch animals such as buffalo, cow, camel, or yak from ₹37,500 to ₹75,000; for sheep, goat or pig from ₹4,000 to ₹10,000; horse, bullock, etc from ₹32,000 to ₹64,000; and for poultry from ₹100 per bird (subject to a ceiling of ₹10,000 per beneficiary household) to ₹250 per bird (with a ceiling of ₹25,000 per beneficiary household), provided the death of the poultry birds is on account of natural calamity.