Arora reiterates demand of Rs 20K crore relief package, seeks immediate clearance of Rs 60K crore stalled funds
Punjab E News (September 10): Launching a scathing attack on BJP led Central Government’s response to Punjab’s flood crisis, Cabinet Minister and AAP Punjab President Mr. Aman Arora today condemned Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi’s paltry Rs. 1600 crore relief package, terming it “an unjustified and salt on the wounds of flood affected people of the state.”
Addressing a press conference here at Punjab Bhawan, Mr. Aman Arora dismantled the Centre’s primary defence—that Punjab has Rs. 12,000 crore in its State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
“The Prime Minister speaks of Rs. 12,000 crore in the SDRF as if it is a blank cheque for the state. This is a deliberate misrepresentation meant to mislead the nation. The truth is, these funds are shackled by the Centre’s own rules, which offer peanuts to victims who have lost everything,” said Mr. Aman Arora.
Detailing about the disparity, Mr. Aman Arora pointed out that Punjab Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann wrote to Centre Government 10 days ago to revise SDRF norms, citing inadequate compensation for flood victims, including Rs 4 lakh for life lost, Rs 74000 for broken limbs, Rs 2500 for destroyed household essentials, Rs. 1.20 lakh for fully damaged house, Rs 6500 for partially damaged pucca house.
“Can Rs 2,500 replace a lifetime of belongings washed away? Is this the value the BJP government places on the life and dignity of a Punjabi?” he questioned.
Rendering the Centre’s Rs 1600 crore package as a mockery, Mr. Aman Arora argued that the package can’t even cover the compensation for standing crops destroyed by unprecedented floods that ravaged over 4.80 lakh acres of standing crops.
He reminded the BJP led Central Government that BJP State leadership Sunil Jakhar, Ravneet Bittu and Ashwani Sharma had demanded Rs 50,000 per acre in compensation for crop damage from the Punjab government. With 4.80 lakh acres affected so far, the the total compensation would amount to over Rs 24,000 crore (4.80 lakh acres x Rs 50,000), far surpassing the central relief package. The loss of life, damaged houses, affected and perished livestock haven’t been considered either.
Despite the detailed presentation by two Punjab cabinet ministers and senior officers to PM yesterday at Gurdaspur, the relief package falls short of addressing the state’s massive losses, he added.
Terming the paltry relief package as inadequate and insulting given the state’s massive losses, Mr. Arora stated that the state government has demanded Rs 20,000 crore and immediate release of Rs 60,000 crore in pending funds but the Centre’s response to Punjab’s plight as step motherly treatment, with many questioning the BJP’s intentions towards Punjab.
Highlighting the stark contrast between corporate houses debt waivers and the state’s plight, Mr. Aman Arora said that in past eleven-and-half years, the PM Modi led Centre Government waived off approximately Rs 15 lakh crore in corporate debts, benefiting 43 corporate houses, some corporate house even received over Rs 20,000 crore in debt relief. In contrast, the relief package for lakhs of Punjab’s flood victims is a mere Rs 1,600 crore.
He said that the Punjab government, under the leadership of CM S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, stands firmly with flood affected people. The CM will be discharged from the hospital in a day or two, and after that, the Punjab government will support every flood affected.
