Punjab BJP slams AAP govt over disaster relief funds

Chandigarh, Sep 20 (PTI) The Punjab BJP on Saturday accused the AAP government of misleading the public about the Rs 12,000 crore of funds meant for disaster relief.

State BJP unit general secretary Anil Sarin cited a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), saying it "exposes" the AAP government's "lies." During his visit to Punjab, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a financial assistance of Rs 1,600 crore for flood-hit Punjab in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already in the state's kitty.

Addressing the media here on Saturday, Sarin said as per the CAG report, the state disaster response fund (SDRF) for the financial year 2020-21 stood at Rs 7,334 crore.

Then, for the next financial year 2021-“22, it was Rs 8,194.80 crore and for 2022-23, it stood at Rs 9,041.74 crore.

"Now it's clear from the CAG report that till March 31, 2023, it was Rs 9,041.74 crore. After that, the government received funds in 2023-“24 and 2024-25, which makes the total amount of Rs 12,000 crore," Sarin claimed.

The BJP leader said cabinet ministers Barinder Goyal and Hardeep Singh Mundian had earlier admitted that Rs 12,000 crore of SDRF was with the state government.

"With Rs 1,600 crore immediate relief announced by PM Modi, the Rs 13,600 crore is already in the state disaster fund, yet Bhagwant Mann says there is no money," he said.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann earlier claimed that the state received Rs 5,012 crore under the SDRF since it was set up in 2010-11, of which Rs 3,820 crore had been spent.

Asking the BJP leaders to not "play politics", Mann had also said the picture was crystal clear but the BJP is "exaggerating" the issue just to "mislead" the people in this hour of crisis. PTI CHS OZ OZ