Punjab is grappling with its most destructive floods in four decades, with nearly four lakh residents affected in two thousand villages and over 1.75 lakh acres of farmland submerged. Officials confirmed on Monday that the disaster has already claimed forty eight lives, while three individuals are still missing. The worst devastation has been reported from Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Amritsar.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday unveiled a comprehensive relief package aimed at those impacted by the calamity. Speaking through a live broadcast from a hospital in Mohali, where he has been admitted since September 5 for exhaustion and a low heart rate, Mann joined the cabinet meeting virtually before making the announcements.
The package includes compensation of ₹20,000 per acre for farmers who have lost crops, a sum Mann described as the highest per acre payment offered by any government in the country. Families of flood victims will receive ₹4 lakh as ex gratia support. The cabinet also cleared the Jisda Khet Usdi Ret initiative, which gives farmers in affected areas the right to remove and sell sand deposited on their fields by floodwaters until November 15, without the need for permits or government approvals.
Mann had already appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a letter dated August 31, urging the Centre to raise its relief norms. He demanded that crop compensation be increased from the existing ₹15,000 per acre to ₹50,000, arguing that much of the produce was ready for harvest when the floods struck. He also proposed doubling the ex gratia for loss of life from ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh.
AAP’s Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia had noted a day earlier that a policy on sand removal would be announced, as farmers were anxious about preparing for the rabi season with large amounts of silt and sand blanketing their fields.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit flood-hit Gurdaspur on Tuesday. During his trip, he will review ongoing rescue and relief operations and meet with families who have been affected. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the revenue department has already released ₹71 crore for immediate assistance. Rescue work is being carried out by twenty four teams of the National Disaster Response Force and two teams of the State Disaster Response Force, supported by 144 boats and a state government helicopter.
Meanwhile, state minister Aman Arora called on the Prime Minister to announce a relief package of at least ₹20,000 crore during his visit. Speaking in Chandigarh, Arora said, “Even though the PM has not uttered a word yet for flood-hit Punjab, he is our PM and I welcome him with folded hands for his visit. I also expect that he should be seen standing by Punjab during his visit.”
Arora also reminded reporters that Chief Minister Mann had demanded the release of ₹60,000 crore of Punjab’s funds, which he claims are stuck with the Centre. According to him, the release of this amount is not charity but Punjab’s right, and it must be provided at a time when the state is struggling with one of the worst flood disasters in decades.
