Chandigarh:- The Central Government has released an advance installment of Rs 240 crore of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for Himachal as well as Punjab to help the flood-affected states. This decision has been taken by the Central Government in view of the flood situation in the state.
The Home Ministry has said that this amount has been released with the aim of expediting relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas. Along with this, the Reserve Bank of India has been directed to immediately deposit this amount in the accounts of the concerned state governments so that it can be utilized in time. This amount has been released by the Central Government so that there is no problem in the ongoing relief operations in Punjab.
It is worth mentioning that Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian has also appealed to the Central Government to provide Rs 151 crore under the National Agriculture Development Scheme for silting up the cultivable land in the border districts of Punjab. 
It is also worth mentioning that the border districts of Punjab, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Kapurthala, Fazilka and Ferozepur have been the worst affected by the floods and the state government is continuously carrying out relief works in these districts.