Centre 'deceitful' in handling special flood package demand, says Punjab minister

Chandigarh, Oct 1 (IANS) Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central government for its "anti-Punjab attitude" and its "deceitful handling" of the state’s demand for a special flood relief package.

Arora told the media here that the way the Centre and Press Information Bureau (PIB) presented misleading figures after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah was nothing short of a betrayal of Punjab and its people.

"Once again, the BJP government’s anti-Punjab and anti-Punjabi face has been exposed," he said.

He noted that after the devastating floods in the state, CM Mann met Amit Shah on Tuesday and placed three major demands before him a special package of Rs 13,800 crore for Punjab’s flood relief and rehabilitation, relaxation in SDRF and NDRF rules so that real compensation could reach affected families and farmers, and special consideration and relaxation for crop damages due to heavy rainfall, including issues of broken rice, discoloured rice and high moisture.

"During the meeting, Shah had assured Punjab that the Centre would extend help as and when required. But just a few hours later, the PIB issued a press release which exposed the truth: instead of approving Punjab’s demands, the Centre tried to mislead by showing that Punjab already has Rs 12,590 crore available under SDRF," Arora said, terming this claim a blatant attempt to confuse people.

"Even if the Punjab government were to fully utilise these funds according to the Centre’s rigid norms, not even Rs 1,200 crore can be released. Punjab has suffered damages worth thousands of crores, including 5 lakh acres of destroyed crops, houses, schools, hospitals and roads. At Rs 6,800 per acre, just crop losses alone come to Rs 340 crore. How can the Centre claim that a mere fraction of SDRF money will suffice?” he asked.

He further said CM Mann had written to the Centre on August 31, demanding fair revisions in SDRF norms, like increasing death compensation from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, disability compensation to Rs 1.5 lakh, and house damage compensation from a meagre Rs 6,500 to at least Rs 50,000.

"Tell me, in today’s time, can any family rebuild their house with Rs 6,500? The state government demanded a revision. Is this wrong? Is it wrong to ask for justice for our people?" Arora asked.

Slamming the "misleading propaganda" around the so-called Rs 1,600 crore package announced by the Prime Minister, Arora said: "Out of this, Rs 805 crore is not new money at all, Rs 170 crore was already sanctioned by the NHAI long ago, and other amounts are from existing schemes like PM Awas Yojana. Even the SDRF advance installment of Rs 260 crore, which would have come irrespective of floods, has been wrongly shown as part of this package. This is nothing but backstabbing Punjab at a time of tragedy. While people lost their homes, children lost their books, and families are still struggling for food, the Centre is fooling Punjab with cooked-up figures."

--IANS

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