Punjab CM Calls On HM Amit Shah, Seeks Special Flood Package

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Tuesday, called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought a special package for the state in view of the damage caused due to unprecedented floods.

The Chief Minister apprised Union Minister Shah that the relief of Rs 1,600 crore announced by the Cental government was miniscule in the wake of grave loss suffered by the state.

He sought upward revision in norms for awarding compensation to the flood victims from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) or National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

He apprised the Union Home Minister that Punjab has faced one of its worst floods in decades, affecting more than 20 lakh people across 2,614 villages, with 6.87 lakh displaced.

Chief Minister Mann said that the disaster has caused widespread losses as more than 4.8 lakh acres of crops were destroyed, over 17,000 houses damaged, more than 2.5 lakh livestock affected and major damage to 4,657 km of rural roads, 485 bridges, 1,417 culverts and 190 mandis.

The Chief Minister added that the preliminary estimate of losses stands at Rs 13,832 crore, covering agriculture, infrastructure, health, education and livelihoods.

He said that the current SDRF and NDRF norms are grossly inadequate to address the actual scale of damages, adding input subsidy where crop loss is 33 per cent and above has been fixed as Rs 6,800 per acre by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Mann said that paying such a petty amount would be unfair to the farmers as the crops were almost at the harvesting stage.

An amount of Rs 50,000 per acre should be paid to the farmers of the state, he added.

The Chief Minister said that he had already flagged the issue with the Union Home Ministry, adding as no response was there so the state has enhanced the compensation at its level by contributing from the state Budget.

He added that in a healing touch to the flood victims, the state government has decided to enhance the compensation of 26 to 33 per cent crop loss to Rs 10,000 per acre from existing Rs 2,000 per acre under SDRF norms, 33 to 75 per cent crop loss to Rs 10,000 from existing Rs 6,800 per acre and for 75 to 100 per cent crop loss compensation has been increased to Rs 20,000 per acre again from existing Rs 6,800.

The Chief Minister said in the Rs 20,000 per acre compensation being given to the farmers, the state government will contribute Rs 14,900, the highest in the country.

He added that the compensation for fully damaged and destroyed houses and severely damaged houses should be doubled from existing Rs 1.20 lakh per house in plain areas to Rs 2.40 lakh per house.

Likewise, Mann said that for partially damaged houses (other than huts) the compensation should be Rs 50,000 per house instead of existing Rs 6,500 per house for pucca houses and Rs 10,000 per house instead of existing Rs 4,000 per house for 'kutcha' houses.

Raising the issue of pending share of Rs 11,297 crore Rural Development Fee and market fees, the Chief Minister said that the development fee and market fees is not being reimbursed to the state despite clear provision to pay under Section 7 of the Punjab Rural Development Act, 1987, and as per Section 23 of Punjab Agriculture Produce Marketing Act, 1961.

He added that the purpose of this fund is to promote the agriculture and rural infrastructure, which ultimately add to overall development of agriculture, viz. rural road network, marketing infrastructure, augmentation of storage facility, land record computerisation, automation and mechanisation of mandis and others.

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