SAS Nagar, September 10 - Colonel Davinder Pal Singh, Vice President of Golden Arrow Residents Welfare Society Sector 71, has demanded that the Central Government should provide the amount as per the requirement to help the flood victims of Punjab.
In a statement issued here, he said that the Prime Minister, who visited Punjab yesterday, has announced a relief of Rs 1600 crore for Punjab, which is very little. He said that in this regard, except for BJP leaders, all other political leaders are saying that this amount is very little compared to the damage caused in Punjab.
He said that BJP leaders are arguing that Punjab has an outstanding balance of Rs 12000 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), which has not been used to provide relief to the flood victims due to the lax performance of the state government. But the reason for the low utilization of this fund is the norms and conditions set by the Central Government for its utilization.
He said that according to the norms of the Central Government, Rs 4 lakh after the death of a person, Rs 6800 per acre for crop loss, Rs 1,20,000 after the collapse of a house, Rs 37500 per animal after the death of a buffalo or cow and Rs 60000 per kilometer for rural roads are fixed.
He said that in Punjab, the contract price per acre is more than Rs 50000. A house cannot be built for Rs 1,20,000 and the price of buffaloes is above one lakh. Farmers can get Rs 34000 for maximum crop and Rs 1,12,500 for buffaloes and cows. Similarly, small amounts are also fixed for the remaining losses.
He said that the Central Government needs to revise these norms to provide relief to the residents of Punjab affected by the floods. Along with this, the Centre needs to release the Rs 8000 crores of Punjab's Rural Development Fund that has been stopped immediately. He said that the Punjab government should also reduce its unnecessary expenses and provide maximum relief to the flood victims.