Punjab is reeling from one of its worst flood disasters in decades, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release Rs 60,000 crore in "stuck" state funds to address the crisis. In a letter to the PM, Mann highlighted the dire situation caused by swollen rivers and heavy monsoon rains, which have submerged approximately 1,000 villages and affected lakhs of residents across seven districts: Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Hoshiarpur.

The floods, triggered by heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, have inundated about three lakh acres of farmland, primarily paddy fields, causing massive crop losses just weeks before harvest. Mann also noted significant livestock losses, hitting rural households dependent on dairy and animal husbandry hard. With the situation potentially worsening, the state faces an uphill battle to recover.

Mann emphasized that Rs 60,000 crore in state funds, including Rs 49,727 crore lost due to the shift from VAT to GST and Rs 8,000 crore from reduced rural and mandi development funds, remain pending with the Centre. He also criticized the recent scrapping of Rs 828 crore worth of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana projects, warning of long-term impacts on rural connectivity.

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In addition, Mann urged a revision of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, calling the current compensation rates "grossly inadequate." He pointed out that the SDRF provides only Rs 6,800 per acre for crop losses, which the state supplements to Rs 15,000 per acre. Given the near-harvest timing of the floods, Mann proposed a minimum of Rs 50,000 per acre to fairly compensate farmers, with the state continuing to contribute its 25% share.

"Punjab is enduring unprecedented flood devastation," Mann wrote. "The release of our rightful funds and revised SDRF norms are critical to support our farmers and vulnerable communities."

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