Punjab Assembly passes resolution against Centre's 'lack of response' on financial package

Chandigarh, Sep 29 (PTI) The Punjab Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the "lack of response and the failure" of the BJP-led Centre to sanction a special financial package for the flood-hit Punjab.

The resolution also condemned the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for "not responding" to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's repeated request for a meeting, thereby "insulting" the people of the state, and preventing the state from making a proper and comprehensive representation of the full scale of the disaster.

The two BJP members were not present in the House when the resolution was passed on Monday.

The resolution, which was moved on Friday, was passed after the completion of the discussion on 'rehabilitation of Punjab'.

The two-day special session of the Punjab Assembly began on Friday.

Winding up the discussion in the House on the concluding day of the session, Chief Minister Mann said a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre for 75 to 100 per cent damage of crops due to the recent floods will be given. He said Rs 10,000 per acre will be given for 33 to 75 and 26 to 33 per cent of crop damage.

He also said that a compensation of Rs 1.20 lakh will be given for complete damage of houses.

Mann said special a 'girdawari' for assessment of losses is underway and added that flood-hit families will start getting compensation before the Diwali festival.

Farmers will be given Rs 7,200 per acre for extracting sand, which has accumulated following the floods, from their fields.

A sum of Rs 47,500 per hectare will be given to farmers whose farm land was washed away by rivers.

He slammed the Centre for allegedly not giving him time to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making representation of the disaster. He also took a swipe at the Centre, saying the PM gave time to meet the Punjab governor.

Mann, however, said he has been given time to meet Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.

During his recent visit to Punjab, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a financial assistance of Rs 1,600 crore for the flood-hit state in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already in the state's kitty.

As per the resolution, Punjab has been ravaged by catastrophic floods, widely regarded as the worst and most destructive deluge since the 1988 floods which historically impacted more than than 34 lakh people.

The current disaster has surpassed previous major floods in independent India, such as those in 1955 and 1978, in terms of sheer scale and devastation, causing loss to more than 20 lakh people in many ways, destroying crops on nearly five lakh acres, numerous loss to livestock, and irreparable damage to both private and public infrastructure, read the resolution.

The chief minister of Punjab, after a comprehensive assessment, formally demanded a special and substantial financial relief package of at least Rs 20,000 crore from the Union government, led by the BJP, to meet this unprecedented crisis, it further stated.

The resolution further said that even a part of the announced package of Rs 1,600 crore has not yet been transferred to the state treasury.

"This House categorically condemns the lack of response and the failure of the BJP-led union government to sanction a special financial package commensurate with the scale of the worst floods faced by Punjab in decades," the resolution said.

"...records its strong protest against the BJP led Union government's apathy that has resulted in the non-disbursement of the announced token funds, thereby critically crippling the speed of the state government's ongoing relief and rehabilitation operations," said the resolution.

Punjab faced one of its worst flood disasters in decades, primarily due to the swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, along with seasonal rivulets resulting from heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Furthermore, heavy rains in Punjab exacerbated the flooding situation. PTI CHS MNK MNK