The Curious Case of (Missing) Disaster Fund

The differing statements of the ministers came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 1,600 crore in assistance for the border state and said Punjab should utilise Rs 12,000 crore already lying in SDRF kitty. PM also said that another instalment of Rs 400 crore under the SDRF, to be given in October, would be released in advance in September.

“There is no money in that account for us. I can say that there is not a single paisa,” Cheema told reporters.

The Finance Minister said that the money was of no use as it was adjusted in the total debt limit of the state. “SDRF is considered a reserved fund. For instance, if we utilise Rs 12,000 crore from this fund, it will automatically reduce our capacity to borrow from the market. We will be able to borrow Rs 12,000 crore less. It means, this money is adjusted in our debt limit. Whatever amount the central government releases to any state in SDRF, that money gets deposited in the reserve fund of the state and the central government deducts it from the debt limit. If we take additional money of SDRF as loan, then it goes out of the limit of our Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management (FRBM),” said Cheema.

He said that loan is given to any state at the rate of three and a half percent of its GSDP plus the outstanding of the previous principal and minus the reserve fund. “For example, if we need a loan of Rs 1,000 crore, then the amount of reserve fund of SDRF lying with us is deducted and the money is given to us. It is believed that you already have the money of SDRF. The money is there in our book account but in reality it is not there. As soon as we spend something from this account, that amount is deducted from the reserve fund,” Cheema said.

Governance Reforms Minister Arora, meanwhile said that the amount was lying in the account but its rules are so strict that it cannot be spent. “The prime minister speaks of Rs 12,000 crore in the SDRF as if it is a blank cheque for the state. This is a deliberate misrepresentation meant to mislead the nation. The truth is, these funds are shackled by the Centre’s own rules, which offer peanuts to victims who have lost everything,” Arora said.

“Look at the way they have formulated the norms. If someone’s house is damaged, then only Rs 1.20 lakh can be given to them. If someone has suffered a fracture on his leg, they get only Rs 74,000 and if someone’s entire crop is damaged then only Rs 6,800 per acre is given. Are these rules not like rubbing salt on the wounds of those people?,” he asked.

Arora said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had written to the Centre 10 days ago seeking a revision of the SDRF norms.

Mann, in his letter, cited inadequate compensation for flood victims under the norms — Rs 4 lakh for life lost, Rs 74,000 for broken limbs, Rs 2,500 for destroyed household essentials, Rs 1.20 lakh for a fully damaged house and Rs 6,500 for a partially damaged ‘pucca’ house — while batting for a revision.

“Can Rs 2,500 replace a lifetime of belongings washed away? Is this the value the BJP government places on the life and dignity of a Punjabi?” Arora asked.

Notably, Mann, in his letter, had written substantial funds are available in the SDRF.

Water Resources Minister Goyal said that the SDRF was a mockery of a fund, “They can keep saying that Rs 12,000 crore is lying unused. In some years they will say, Rs 1 lakh crore is lying unused. When money is not to be spent from the fund, then what is the point?,” he asked.

The ministers however, were united in their criticism of the assistance announced by PM.

Calling it a “mockery” of Punjab’s people, Arora said that the assistance cannot even cover the compensation for the 4.80 lakh acres of standing crops destroyed in the floods.

He reminded the BJP-led central government that the party’s Punjab leadership — Sunil Jakhar, Ravneet Bittu and Ashwani Sharma — had demanded Rs 50,000 per acre as compensation for crop damage from the Punjab government.

With 4.80 lakh acres affected so far, the total compensation would amount to over Rs 24,000 crore, far surpassing the assistance announced, Arora said while asserting that the loss of life, houses damaged, livestock affected and perished have not been considered either.

Cheema said Modi came to Punjab almost 30 days after the floods, and during his visit, did not bother to hold hands of the people who lost their family members, people whose crops and houses were damaged.

“He announced a meagre amount of Rs 1,600 crore. It is like ‘Oont ke muh mein jeera’. Instead of meeting grieving families who lost loved ones, farmers whose crops were destroyed, and labourers whose homes were washed away, he only rubbed salt on their wounds,” Cheema added.

Modi insulted Punjabi language: Cheema

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi insulted the Punjabi language when he was asked to accord the flood-hit state a bigger relief in monetary aid.

Modi, who conducted an aerial survey of the devastation caused by the floods Tuesday, announced Rs 1,600 crore in assistance, an ex gratia sum of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the seriously injured. Modi later held a review meeting in Gurdaspur.

Addressing the media, Cheema claimed that Cabinet minister Hardeep Singh Mundian, who was part of the Gurdaspur meeting, told Modi that Rs 1,600 crore was “meagre” and demanded Rs 20,000 crore as interim relief.

“Then the PM told him (Mundian) ‘kya aapko Hindi samajh nahin aati. Aapko samajh nahin aata ke Rs 1,600 crore de diya (Do you not understand Hindi? Do you not understand that Rs 1,600 crore has been given),” Cheema alleged.

“It means the PM insulted our mother language Punjabi, people of Punjab and Punjabiyat,” he charged.

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