Punjab’s ₹13,300-cr flood damage report ready, to be submitted on Friday

Of the total amount, the state government has sought ₹2,500 crore as compensation for damages to rural infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, dispensaries, hospitals and mandis.

Following severe floods in August and September, the Punjab government has drafted a memorandum seeking ₹13,300 crore from the Centre for compensation and reconstruction. The floods caused extensive damage to kharif crops, primarily paddy, as well as loss of lives, milch animals, and property.

Following severe floods in August and September, the Punjab government has drafted a memorandum seeking ₹13,300 crore from the Centre for compensation and reconstruction. The floods caused extensive damage to kharif crops, primarily paddy, as well as loss of lives, milch animals, and property. (PTI File)

Of the total amount, the state government has sought ₹2,500 crore as compensation for damages to rural infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, dispensaries, hospitals and mandis.

Government sources say the report is preliminary and information from the field is still trickling in and when it is complete, an updated memorandum will be sent to the central government.

A total of 30,000 houses have been damaged out of which 9,000 have been completely damaged and the state government has demanded ₹1.20 lakh for each damaged house totalling ₹360 crore.

In the girdawari conducted by the state revenue department to assess the losses, crops on over 2.97 lakh acres have been completely damaged for which ₹2,000 crore has been sought from the Centre.

For desilting of sand on over 85,863 acres, the government has demanded ₹25,000 per acre, as according to officials in the revenue department, it is an uphill task for a farmer to remove silt from their fields even if they have been allowed to sell the sand.

Earlier on a visit to flood-ravaged Punjab on September 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced financial assistance of ₹1,600 crore in addition to the ₹12,000 crore already in the state’s kitty. He announced the advance release of the second instalment of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. The relief package, according to Modi, included rebuilding homes under the PM Awas Yojana, restoring national highways, reconstructing schools, and distributing mini kits for livestock to help the entire region and its people get back on their feet.

As per preliminary reports collated from the girdawari being conducted by the revenue department, out of the 5 lakh acres of farmland affected due to the floods in August-September, the crop over 2.97 lakh acres has suffered 100% damage.

The assessment of 3.5 lakh acres has been completed, and the state is collating the data of the remaining 1.5 lakh acres. “The memorandum to the Centre will be sent on Thursday,” said a senior official in the state revenue department.

As per the girdawari report, total crop area affected by silt is 85,863 acres, and Ferozepur is the worst-affected district with 25,273 acres covered under silt, followed by Tarn Taran (25,204 acres); Kapurthala (15,803 acres); Fazilka (5,104 acres); and Moga (5,031 acres). However, the layer of silt deposited over the farmland is yet to be ascertained.

The PAU said that removing silt from the fields is beyond many farmers, and as per their study, at some places the layer is as thick as 5 feet. Earlier the state government has announced ₹7,200 per acre for evacuating silt from the fields, which has been increased to ₹25,000 per acre assessing the difficulty in dredging silt.

In his address in the Vidhan Sabha on September 30 on the concluding day of a two-day special session, chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had assured that the government will start disbursing flood-relief compensation to affected individuals before Diwali. While the House had passed a resolution seeking a ₹20,000-crore special package from the central government, the CM had also met Union home minister Amit Shah regarding flood aid.

The state government had announced a compensation of ₹10,000 for per-acre farmland with 26 to 33% crop loss, for 33 to 75% crop loss, the compensation was enhanced from ₹6,800 to ₹10,000 per acre. For 75 to 100% crop loss, the compensation will be ₹20,000 per acre.

Compensation for losses

· ₹2,000 crore for crop loss

· ₹2,500 crore for damage to rural infrastructure (roads, bridges, hospitals, dispensaries, etc.)

· ₹250 crore for desilting over 85,863 acres

· ₹360 crore for damages to houses