Chandigarh, Sept 12 — The Punjab government has directed 288 financially strong panchayats to contribute 5 percent of their reserves toward flood relief, even as confusion deepens over the state’s disaster relief funds.
The selected panchayats together hold Rs 618.83 crore in fixed deposits. If they comply, the state exchequer would immediately receive Rs 30.94 crore for relief and rehabilitation works. The Rural Development and Panchayats Department has circulated letters instructing district officers to ensure compliance. The communication also lists the bank details and account numbers where the contributions should be deposited.
Among the wealthiest panchayats, Patiala’s Shambhu Kalan tops the list with Rs 79.38 crore in deposits, followed by Behlolpur in Mohali with Rs 43.50 crore, Dararhi with Rs 27 crore, and Sural Kalan with Rs 21.28 crore.
Rural Development Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond appealed to local bodies to step forward. “I have appealed to the financially capable panchayats to come forward and help in relief and rehabilitation efforts of ravaged villages,” he said.
The move comes a day after the Opposition — including the Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — demanded a central probe into the alleged misuse of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The issue resurfaced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a visit to flood-affected areas, announced a package of Rs 1,600 crore and pointed to existing SDRF funds in the state’s account.
Government officials, however, disputed the figures cited. According to them, Punjab has received Rs 6,190 crore from the Centre under SDRF over the past two decades, while the state itself contributed Rs 2,042 crore, taking the cumulative amount to Rs 8,232 crore.
Finance Minister Harpal Cheema rejected Opposition allegations, accusing the BJP of distorting facts. “Since March 2022, when AAP assumed power in the state, Punjab received only Rs 1,582 crore as disaster relief fund, of which Rs 649 crore has been spent. The BJP is lying about the funds available and should stop maligning the government for petty political gains,” Cheema said.
He further argued that the often-cited Rs 12,128 crore figure factored in accumulated interest. “Since withdrawal of money from the SDRF is considered as borrowing on high interest rate — two percent above the repo rate — the figure of Rs 12,128 crore was calculated by including this interest,” he said.
Meanwhile, with both the government and Opposition trading charges, questions over the actual SDRF corpus remain unresolved, even as flood-affected communities await urgent relief.
