NEW DELHI: Punjab is battling one of the worst flood disasters in decades, with chief minister Bhagwant Mann urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release Rs 60,000 crore of the state’s funds which, he said, were “stuck” with the Centre.In a letter sent on Sunday, Mann said that about 1,000 villages and lakhs of people have been hit by the devastation caused by the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers, along with seasonal rivulets fed by heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.“Heavy monsoon rains, coupled with the release of waters from dams, have caused extensive flooding in seven districts, namely Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Hoshiarpur,” wrote Mann.He further added, “With the situation still evolving, there is a grave concern that conditions may further deteriorate in the coming days.”The CM said that around three lakh acres of farmland, largely paddy fields, remain submerged, with crops destroyed just weeks before harvest. “In addition, there has been a widespread loss of livestock, which is severely impacting rural households whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on dairy and animal husbandry,” he wrote. As floodwaters continue to disrupt life across the state, the Punjab government has extended the closure of all schools until 3 September. “In accordance with the directives of chief minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Singh Mann, keeping in view the flood situation in Punjab, holidays have been declared in all government/aided/recognised and private schools in the state until September 3, 2025,” state education minister Harjot Singh Bains announced. He added, “Parents and students are requested to prioritise safety and comply with the instructions issued by the administration.”The schools had previously been shut from August 27 to August 30.Mann claimed that Rs 60,000 crore of Punjab’s funds are pending with the Centre. Breaking down the figure, he said the state suffered a permanent revenue loss of Rs 49,727 crore due to the implementation of GST and transition from the VAT regime, for which “no compensation has been provided by the government of India”. He also pointed out that cuts in the rural development fund (RDF) and mandi development fund (MDF) had cost the state over Rs 8,000 crore, while the scrapping of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) projects worth Rs 828 crore “can adversely impact the state’s rural connectivity in the long run”.“Punjab is facing a tough time due to the worst flood conditions. You are requested to release all funds of Punjab stuck with the Government of India, which is to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore,” he urged.The CM also asked the Centre to revise norms under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), calling them “totally unrealistic”. At present, compensation norms fix input subsidy for crop loss above 33% at Rs 17,000 per hectare, equivalent to Rs 6,800 per acre. He said that paying such a petty amount would be a cruel joke with the farmers, further noting that the state government had been topping it up to Rs 15,000 per acre by contributing an extra Rs 8,200.“Since the crops were almost at the harvesting stage, I feel that at least Rs 50,000 per acre should be paid to the farmers. So I request you to revise the norms of compensation of SDRF. Needless to say the state government shall continue to contribute 25 per cent as per the scheme of SDRF,” Mann said.The flood-hit districts include Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar, with relief efforts continuing as water levels remain high. Go to Source
