NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release all funds of the state worth Rs 60,000 crore currently stuck with the Government of India.
The request comes amid one of the worst flood disasters in decades affecting nearly 1,000 villages and lakhs of people across the state.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mann highlighted the severe impact of heavy monsoon rains combined with the release of water from dams, which has caused extensive flooding in Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Hoshiarpur.
He warned that the situation remains critical and may further deteriorate.
The Chief Minister noted that about three lakh acres of farmland, primarily paddy fields, remain submerged, causing devastating crop losses just weeks before harvest. Livestock losses are also widespread, affecting rural households dependent on dairy and animal husbandry.
Mann further cited a permanent revenue loss of Rs 49,727 crore due to GST implementation and transition from the VAT regime, for which no compensation has been provided by the Centre.
Mann also raised concerns over the reduction of RDF and MDF funds over the years, which has now escalated to over Rs 8,000 crore, and the recent scrapping of pMCsy projects worth Rs 828 crore, which could impact rural connectivity in the long term.
Highlighting inadequacies in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, Mann said the current compensation for farmers is unrealistic. For instance, a crop loss of 33% or more currently attracts Rs 17,000 per hectare (approx Rs 6,800 per acre), which the state supplements to Rs 15,000 per acre.
Mann demanded that at least Rs 50,000 per acre be paid to farmers, with the state continuing to contribute 25% under SDRF guidelines.
