Chandigarh, September 19: Punjab cabinet will convene a special session of the state Assembly from September 26 to 29 to introduce “people-oriented” amendments and new laws addressing damage caused by recent floods, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced Thursday.
Mann said the session will approve fresh rules on compensation for victims and provide legislative backing to relief and rehabilitation measures. “The decisions taken during this special session will provide substantial relief to flood-affected citizens,” he noted, adding that his government remains “unwavering” in its support for people hit by the disaster.
The Chief Minister underlined the scale of destruction: more than 2,300 villages submerged, over 2 million people affected, and crops lost across five lakh acres. Official figures list 57 deaths and around seven lakh people displaced. Mann said 3,200 schools, 19 colleges, 1,400 clinics and hospitals, 8,500 km of roads, and 2,500 bridges were also damaged. Initial estimates place the total loss at Rs 13,800 crore, though the actual figure may be higher.
Punjab has faced one of its worst floods in decades, driven by swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, along with seasonal rivulets fed by heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The worst-hit districts include Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Tarn Taran.
Mann said the state government is “leaving no stone unturned” to ensure relief, rehabilitation, and recovery. He had earlier urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release Rs 60,000 crore of Punjab’s funds “stuck” with the Centre and pressed for changes in State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, calling existing guidelines “grossly inadequate” to compensate farmers, livestock owners, and vulnerable communities.
During a recent visit to Punjab, Modi announced Rs 1,600 crore in financial assistance for flood relief.
