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Punjab Flood: CM Mann said that his government wants to pay at least Rs 50,000 per acre to the affected farmers.
Punjab flood: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann wrote a letter to PM Modi demanding release of Rs 60,000 crore
Is. Bhagwant Mann wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday on the devastation in Punjab due to severe floods and urged him to release Rs 60,000 crore for the state. Maan also demanded amendment in the norms of funds available in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). He said that his government wants to pay at least Rs 50,000 per acre to the affected farmers. Due to heavy rains in Punjab Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, there is a massive flooding due to the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal drains. In a letter to PM Modi, Mann said that Punjab is currently struggling with one of the worst flood disasters in decades, which has affected about 1,000 villages and millions of people. Mann wrote that due to heavy rains and release of water from dams, there has been a severe flood in seven districts Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Hoshiarpur.
Paddy fields immersed in flood water
CM Mann expressed serious concern that the situation may worsen in the coming days. He said that at present about three lakh acres of agricultural land, mainly paddy fields are immersed in flood water, due to which crops have suffered heavy losses a few weeks before harvesting. He said that apart from this there has been widespread loss of livestock, which is seriously affecting rural families, whose livelihood is very much dependent on dairy and animal husbandry. Mann claimed that the state’s Rs 60,000 crore is pending with the Center and should be released. Giving details, Mann said that the estimated permanent loss of revenue due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and infection with the VAT system is Rs 49,727 crore, for which no compensation has been given by the Government of India. In the last few years, the loss has exceeded Rs 8,000 crore due to decrease in RDF (Rural Development Fund) and MDF (Mandi Development Fund).
Punjab in difficult times: Honor
Mann also told that the Center recently Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana in Punjab (PMGSY) The projects were canceled, which was Rs 828 crore. He wrote that this can adversely affect the rural connectivity of the state in the long run. He said that Punjab is facing difficult times due to the worst flood situation. You are requested to issue all the funds of Punjab stuck with the Government of India, which is about 60,000 crores. Maan said that the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)) Adequate funds are available in, but under the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the existing criteria set to farmers, cattle rearers and weak communities are extremely insufficient to compensate their loss.
Payment of Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers
He claimed that the notified criteria is completely unrealistic compared to the actual losses caused to the farmers. Citing an example, Mann said that where the loss of the crop is 33 percent and above, the input subsidy has been fixed at Rs 17,000 per hectare. This is at Rs 6,800 per acre. He said that payment of such small amount will be a cruel joke with the farmers. Therefore, the state government contributes an additional contribution of Rs 8,200 per acre and pays Rs 15,000 per acre to the farmers. Maan wrote that since crops are almost in the phase of harvesting, I think farmers should be paid at least Rs 50,000 per acre. Therefore, I request you to modify the SDRF compensation criteria. There is no need to say that the state government will continue to contribute 25 percent as per SDRF plan.
(Tagstotranslate) Punjab Flood (T) CM Bhagwant Mann (T) PM Narendra Modi