by JAG MOHAN THAKEN
Punjab, the major grain producer state of India, has faced the brunt of the severe deluge during the last fortnight which has dashed all hopes of the inhabitants, especially the farmers of the state. It has inflicted deep wounds to the state. An official release informed that flood havoc has struck 2185 villages across 22 districts till September 10 with the affected population crossing 3,88,466. On the agricultural front, the total crop area damaged has climbed to 1,91,981.45 hectares.
To heal the wounds of flood affected people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Punjab on Tuesday, September 9, and reviewed the flood situation and damage caused and extending a helping hand, he announced financial assistance of Rs. 1600 crore for Punjab and stated that this relief of Rs. 1600 crore for Punjab is in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already in the state’s kitty.
The Punjab wing of BJP leaders have applauded the Prime Minister for extending relief of Rs, 1600 crore and revealing that Rs 12,000 crore already in the state’s kitty.
Sunil Jakhar, the State president of BJP, says, “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced an additional ₹1600 crore in aid for flood-affected Punjab, on top of the existing ₹12,000 crore in central assistance. I wholeheartedly thank the Prime Minister for supporting the people of Punjab during this challenging time.”
Ravneet Singh Bittu @RavneetBittu, Union Minister of State Railway & Food Processing Industries, tweets, “The people of Punjab express their heartfelt gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, for the generous relief package of ₹1600 crore extended to the state during this critical time. This timely assistance reflects the Prime Minister’s deep concern and compassion for Punjab and its people.”
Is Rs 12,000 crore DRF a false propaganda by BJP?
After the statement of Prime Minister, Modi, the BJP leaders are making much hue and cry that the state government is already having Rs 12,000 crore in the state’s kitty. But the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab, on September 11, has strongly countered it by terming this as the false propaganda being spread by BJP leaders over the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and released the actual official figures to the people of Punjab.
In a statement, Punjab Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemned the BJP for deliberately misleading the public on disaster relief funds. He said, “BJP leaders have been shamelessly peddling lies to defame the AAP government. The truth is now before the people, and every single rupee received and spent from SDRF is in the public domain. Unlike BJP, which thrives on deceit and diversion, we believe in transparency and accountability.”
Cheema presented the complete breakup of funds received by the Punjab Government from the Government of India under SDRF and the amount spent by the state since April 1, 2022 as in 2022-23: ₹208 crore received, ₹61 crore spent; 2023-24: ₹645 crore received, ₹420 crore spent; 2024-25: ₹488 crore received, ₹27 crore spent; 2025-26: ₹241 crore received and ₹140 crore spent.
Minister Cheema further stated that from April 1, 2022, to September 10, 2025, the Punjab Government received a total of ₹1582 crore from the Government of India under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Out of this, ₹649 crore has already been spent on various relief and rehabilitation works across the state, while the remaining SDRF Balances are being used for ongoing and upcoming relief operations to ensure timely assistance to flood affected people.
Criticizing PM Modi’s claim that the state is already having Rs 12,000 crore of Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) in the state’s kitty, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring has also reiterated that this was nothing as compared to the great losses caused in the state. He also disputed the PM’s claims about Rs 12,000 crore saying there was nothing special about it as it was provided to the states as a matter of routine. Warring said that by trying to club the Rs 12,000 crore DRF amount with the relief he announced, the Prime Minister had tried to wriggle out of the situation as he also knew that the relief he was providing to Punjab was too little and too little.
Why the opposition stating the PM relief as ‘A drop in the ocean?
Punjab state congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring in a tweet on September 9, termed this relief, “A drop in the ocean; as we say in Hindi, ‘Oont ke mooh mein jeera’. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji has deeply disappointed Punjabis once again. When Punjab had great expectations from him, he failed. Rs 1600 crore is not even peanuts. The estimated loss ran into thousands of crores of rupees. Wonder what is the idea behind such meagre relief!”
Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, S. Partap Singh Bajwa, slammed the Union Government for announcing only ₹1,600 crore as relief for Punjab after the devastating floods. He has termed this a “cruel joke” when the state has suffered losses worth nearly ₹20,000 crore. “Against this backdrop, the Centre’s announcement amounts to less than 8% of the damages—a fraction of what Punjab urgently requires.”
Bajwa further demanded that the Union Government must also immediately release the ₹60,000 crore pending funds that rightfully belong to Punjab under GST compensation, RDF, and other central schemes.
Punjab Revenue and Rehabilitation Minister, Hardeep Singh Mundia has termed the meagre relief of Rs 1600 Cr announced for Punjab as insufficient for Punjab, which is suffering from the devastating floods, and has said that at least an interim relief of Rs 20,000 Cr should be released and the blocked funds of Rs 60,000 Cr should be released. Giving only Rs 1600 Cr against the demand of Rs 80,000 Cr is a cruel joke on the food bowl state.
Punjab Cabinet Minister and Aam Aadmi Party State President Mr. Aman Arora stated, “The Prime Minister came, saw, and offered a pittance. While our farmers stand amidst the ruins of their lives—their homes, their crops, their livestock washed away—the Centre’s response is not just inadequate, it is a blatant insult. Rs. 1600 crore is a slap in the face of every citizen who has lost everything.”
Shivraj Singh Chouhan @ChouhanShivraj, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Minister of Rural Development, Government of India, who visited Punjab on September 4 to take stock of the situation, has also described the catastrophic condition of the state, “The tragedy of floods has disrupted the lives of people everywhere. Villages are submerged in water, lush green crops in the fields have been destroyed, there has been a huge loss of livestock and many families are standing homeless and helpless. I have come to assure my farmer brothers and sisters and the people of Punjab that I have come here not only to assess the situation, but to stand with you and share your grief.”
Farmers’ union terms the relief as rubbing salt on the wounds
In a Press statement, Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Dakounda has termed the Prime Minister’s announcement of Rs. 1600 crore for flood-ravaged Punjab as an insult to Punjabis. The state committee said that this is the same Prime Minister who had announced a package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore during the Bihar elections in 2020 and now when Punjab is going through a difficult time, people’s houses have collapsed, the land has been eroded by the river, the remaining land has been filled with sand, crops have been ruined, human lives have been lost, livestock and all the goods and equipment have been swept away, then by announcing only Rs 1600 crore, salt has been rubbed on the wounds of the people.
The State Committee said that Rs 60 thousand crore of RDF and other funds are already pending with the Center, these should have been released. The leaders said that apart from the obvious damage caused by floods near the rivers, the roads under the Bharatwala project have also damaged crops by blocking water, houses of poor farmers and labourers have collapsed in the entire Punjab and crops have been damaged which cannot be quantified. The state committee said that at this time, the same relief was needed for the labourers as for the farmers, but after the central government conducted a survey through committees, the visit of the Union Agriculture Minister and now the visit of the Prime Minister was promoted with great enthusiasm, only meagre relief has been given.
‘Will mere bandaging without adequate medication heal the deep wounds?’
Now the questions arise- Is it the sufficient relief for the state which has been ruined at all corners. The crops are damaged, houses have been dashed to ground, no eatables left usable, livestock (the major additional income source for farmers and landless villagers) have been swayed away in the floods and all income ways are closed, not only temporarily, but will take a long time to revive. Already burdened with debt taken from banks, private lenders, other financial institutions and the balance amount for goods purchased on credit from the Adhatiyas, which the farmers pay at the time of crop harvesting, now how will the farmers arrange this much when all their crops have been damaged? Will the central government waive the debts? Also, the consequences of the flood will bring more difficulties in the time to come in the shape of diseases and scarcity of everything. So, extending an inadequate relief of Rs 1600 crore against the loss of Rs 20,000 crores questions- ‘Will mere bandaging without adequate medication heal the deep wounds?’
Raising the issue, Delhi based senior journalist, K P Malik asks, “Whether the relief is Salt or balm on Punjab’s wounds?”
Malik adds, “PM Modi has announced a relief of Rs 1,600 crore for Punjab. But this amount is less than a drop in the ocean. The devastation in Punjab is not hidden from anyone, according to the information so far, more than 2.5 lakh livestock affected, paddy and other crops destroyed, fields filled with silt, labourers unemployed and thousands of houses razed to the ground.”
He raises a chain of questions, “Now the question is, will Rs 1,600 crore remove silt from Punjab’s fields? Will it help to rebuild the fallen houses? Will it help to bring back the animals that died or were swept away? Will it help to sow the next wheat crop? Is the government making fun of the farmers by giving Rs 6,000 advance in the name of Kisan Samman Nidhi? This is not the relief, but like handing over a begging bowl to the farmers. So, is the Modi government standing with the farmers or trying to punish Punjab? Is this “relief package” a political revenge against Punjab?”
We may conclude with a positive note that as the state needs much more help, ‘Punjab Mange More’, so the central government should and hopefully will release a bonanza to the state immediately, without considering which party is ruling the state. It is the time to save the state and not to play the political game. Let us hope for the better!
Jag Mohan Thaken is a Senior Journalist, Columnist & Political Analyst, views are personal
