Punjab CM's 25-minute meeting with Shah: Shah said - ₹1600 crore token money, will give more help

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has reached Delhi. He left from Kapurthala House in Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The meeting is expected to last for about half an hour. He will brief Shah about the damage caused by the floods in Punjab.

He will also demand relaxation in the rules of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF). Punjab Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha and other officials were with the Chief Minister.

However, Chief Minister Mann had been repeatedly requesting to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier too. However, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) did not give him time. A resolution condemning the PMO was also passed in the special session called for the floods.

When Modi came to Punjab, the Chief Minister was in the hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the flood-affected areas of Punjab on September 9. However, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was ill at that time, so he could not meet the Prime Minister. Opposition parties also raised the issue. However, BJP leaders are also raising the question that if the Chief Minister was ill, then his number two minister, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, should have gone to meet the Prime Minister. However, the Punjab government sent Minister Hardeep Mundian.

Punjab Chief Minister's two main demands from the Centre

A package of Rs 20,000 crore should be given: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann says that Punjab has suffered a loss of Rs 20,000 crore in the floods. Therefore, this package should be given to the state. However, after his visit to Punjab, Prime Minister Modi announced a compensation of Rs 1,600 crore. The Prime Minister said that Rs 12,000 crore is already lying with the state in the SDRF.

Relaxation in SDRF rules: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann says that the compensation fixed under the SDRF rules is very low. The Punjab government wants to give compensation of up to Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers. The Chief Minister also said in the session on Monday that compensation for 26% to 33% crop loss is being increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000, and for 33% to 75% crop loss from Rs 6,800 to Rs 10,000. For 75% to 100% crop loss, assistance of Rs 6,800 can be provided from the SDRF fund, which is being increased to Rs 20,000. This is possible only if the SDRF rules are relaxed; otherwise, the government will add an additional amount.

Worst flood in the state since 1988, what has the central government done so far?

The Punjab government says that the state has witnessed a flood worse than the 1988 flood, which has affected all 23 districts. The floods have affected about 3.89 lakh people, out of whom 59 have died. In addition, 2 lakh acres of crops have been damaged.

The Home Minister took stock of the situation over the phone.

As soon as the flood was reported, NDRF and Army teams were sent for rescue operations. About 25 helicopters were engaged in rescue operations. During the floods, on September 1, Home Minister Shah called Chief Minister Mann to inquire about the flood situation. The Prime Minister returned from his foreign tour on September 2 and inquired about the situation from the Chief Minister.

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Three teams also reached Punjab to assess the damage.

On September 5, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Punjab. Meanwhile, three central teams also reached Punjab to assess the damage. On September 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Punjab. He met farmers and Punjab ministers in Gurdaspur. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister announced a relief package of ₹1,600 crore for Punjab.