Chandigarh, Aug 31 — Raising Punjab’s plight amid one of the worst floods in decades, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging immediate release of Rs 60,000 crore that he said is “stuck” with the Centre.
Mann also pressed for a revision in norms governing the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), arguing that existing guidelines are inadequate to meet the scale of losses. He said his government is prepared to provide Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers whose fields were submerged, but changes in the SDRF framework are necessary.
“Punjab is currently grappling with one of the worst flood disasters in decades, impacting about 1,000 villages and lakhs of people,” Mann wrote. He said heavy monsoon rains, coupled with water releases from dams, have triggered flooding in seven districts—Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Hoshiarpur. “With the situation still evolving, there is a grave concern that conditions may further deteriorate in the coming days.”
According to Mann, nearly three lakh acres of farmland, mostly paddy fields, remain submerged weeks before harvest, while widespread livestock losses have compounded rural distress. “There has been a widespread loss of livestock, which is severely impacting rural households whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on dairy and animal husbandry,” he said.
The Chief Minister claimed Rs 60,000 crore of Punjab’s funds remain pending with the Union government. He cited Rs 49,727 crore in lost revenue after the shift from VAT to GST for which “no compensation has been provided,” along with more than Rs 8,000 crore in cuts to the Rural Development Fund (RDF) and Mandi Development Fund (MDF). Mann also flagged the cancellation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) projects worth Rs 828 crore, warning that it could “adversely impact the state’s rural connectivity in the long run.”
“Punjab is facing a tough time due to the worst flood conditions. You are requested to release all funds of Punjab stuck with the Government of India, which is to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore,” he wrote.
Mann further criticized the compensation formula under SDRF, calling it outdated and unfair. Currently, farmers are entitled to Rs 17,000 per hectare—or Rs 6,800 per acre—when crop loss exceeds 33 percent. “Paying such a petty amount would be a cruel joke with the farmers,” he said.
The Punjab government already supplements the SDRF payout by adding Rs 8,200 per acre, raising compensation to Rs 15,000 per acre. Mann argued the scale of damage warrants a much higher figure. “Since the crops were almost at the harvesting stage, I feel that at least Rs 50,000 per acre should be paid to the farmers. So I request you to revise the norms of compensation of SDRF. Needless to say the state government shall continue to contribute 25 per cent as per the scheme of SDRF,” he said.
