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Punjab loses out on relief due to
ridiculous norms
State too guilty of sitting on unspent funds
WSN Network
Chandigarh:
Punjab has asked New Delhi to tell the Union Home Ministry that the
state be given all the possible flood as per new norms as the nature
and quantum of damage caused to crops and property in Punjab was
different from the loss suffered on this account by other states
during the recent floods.
But even as more
than Rs 1,000 crore worth of crops got detroyed and more than 15
people died, floods continued to mar life in Punjab but shockingly
the state was sitting all this while on Rs 1,646 crore worth of
State Calamity Relief Fund (SCRF) which it failed to spend but kept
on citing fund crunch for flood relief measures.
Union Joint
Secretary (Home) Prabhanshu Kamal conceded that it was indeed the
factual position as he visted flood-affected areas of Jalandhar and
Kapurthala districts with a team of officers from different union
departments.
Punjab's
Disaster Management Minister Ajit Singh Kohar has demanded a
compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare for flood victims.
Punjab, as per
the existing norms, does not qualify for much of the relief amount.
CM Parkash Singh
Badal said the state’s case be seen in an entirely different
perspective as the paddy crop close to the ripening stage had been
completely damaged. Affected farmers in
Punjab could be
compensated only if the norms for relief were revised. Existing
relief is pegged at Rs 4,000 per hectare. It is too meagre by the
standards of expenditure incurred in Punjab. Badal has asked for Rs
15,000 per hectare relief.
What is perverse
is that the Centre has an upper ceiling of Rs 2,000 per family. And
relief in case of fodder and feed concentrate is pegged at Rs 20 per
day.
Punjab has so
far assessed the damage at around Rs 1,000 crore.
27 August, 2008
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