Rs 14,000 crore: Seeking interim aid, Punjab puts number to its deluge loss
Three more deaths take toll to 46, crops on 1.75 lakh hectare land damaged
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The central committee, which carried out its own assessment, will hand over a report, after integrating their spot visits and state government’s memorandum of demands, to union Home SecretaryThe Punjab government, in an interim report Saturday, estimated the loss caused by the floods at Rs 14,000 crore and sought an immediate release of the amount from the National Disaster Relief Fund to mitigate the hardships of the people.
With three more deaths being reported, the toll due to the deluge has gone up to 46, while crops on 1.75 lakh hectares of land have been damaged and more than 3.87 lakh people in 1,996 villages have been impacted, as per a daily flood bulletin.
In a meeting of the central disaster committee, chaired by Dr Rajesh Gupta, Joint Secretary of the Department of Home, Government of India, in Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha handed over a memorandum of demands.
The state has sought an interim crop loss compensation of Rs 1,858 crore. Sources, who have seen the memorandum, said the water resources department has claimed damages worth Rs 1,520 crore while department of rural development and panchayats has sought Rs 5,043 crore. The floods have also cost the department of health Rs 780 crore while Punjab Mandi Board, responsible for upkeep and maintenance of mandis (grain markets), link roads and other infrastructure has pegged damages at Rs 1,022 crore. The Public Works Department (PWD), responsible for roads and bridges, has sought Rs 1,970 crore.
Similarly, the Agriculture Department has claimed Rs 317 crore, department of education Rs 542 crore, department of power and department of animal husbandry Rs 103 crore each, and department of higher education Rs 6 crore. Local government (Rs 7 crore), department of food (Rs 6 crore), department of water supply (Rs 6 crore), and department of forest and wild life (Rs 4 crore) too, among others have sought compensation.
A senior official said the meeting was informed that this was just an interim assessment. “The magnitude of damage and destruction is much more. We will assess it once the water recedes. An updated memorandum of demands would be sent then,” the state government told the central team.
The central committee, which carried out its own assessment, will hand over a report, after integrating their spot visits and state government’s memorandum of demands, to union Home Secretary.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the Centre claims to be assessing the damage but is yet to request for flood-related data from the state, which Punjab is fully prepared to provide, whereas the final report on the damage can be accessed after the floodwaters recede. He urged the Centre to release “pending” dues amounting to Rs 60,000 crore.
Cheema also said whenever there was a flood situation any state, be it Odisha or West Bengal, the Centre provided relief in three to four days. “Fifteen days have passed since Punjab faced floods and the prime minister has not uttered a word to stand by the people of the state. Whenever the country faced any problem, Punjab was at the forefront. But the BJP is discriminating against Punjab,” he alleged. Cheema said the farm sector, a cornerstone of the state’s economy, has suffered extensive damage in 18 districts.
Meanwhile, as per the flood bulletin, so far, 22,854 people have been evacuated from the affected areas. Around 200 relief camps have been set up across the state, sheltering more than 7,000 displaced people. Rescue-and-relief operations are being carried out by 24 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and two of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), supported by 144 boats.
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