Punjab Govt Demands Rs 20,000 Crore Relief, Calls Centre’s SDRF Claim Misleading

Punjab Govt on Flood Relief: In a special session of the Punjab Assembly, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly questioned the Centre’s attitude on flood relief, saying that Punjab was demanding its rightful share, not begging. Mann presented detailed figures of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the past 25 years and dismissed the Centre’s claim that Rs 12,000 crore was lying unused in the fund.

Punjab Govt on Relief Fund

The Chief Minister explained that during the past 25 years, including under Akali-BJP and Congress governments, Punjab had received only Rs 6,190 crore under SDRF, most of which had already been spent on different disasters like floods, droughts, and hailstorms. Currently, only around Rs 1,200 crore remains in the SDRF account, which is far too little to handle this year’s devastating floods.  

In August 2025, massive floods hit Punjab, affecting nearly 1,400 villages and directly impacting more than four lakh people. Key farming regions suffered widespread destruction, with thousands of acres of wheat, mustard, and other rabi crops destroyed. Farmer groups say nearly 75,000 farming families have been ruined and need urgent relief.  

Punjab has sought a special relief package of Rs 20,000 crore from the Centre

Initial assessment by the state government puts the total damage at Rs 13,800 crore, including losses to agriculture, infrastructure, roads, bridges, electricity, and water supply systems. Officials believe the actual losses could be even higher because many remote areas are still being surveyed. Based on this, Punjab has sought a special relief package of Rs 20,000 crore from the Centre.  

So far, the Centre has approved only Rs 1,600 crore, which both the state government and Opposition leaders called “a drop in the ocean.” The Centre also suggested that Punjab use the alleged Rs 12,000 crore left in the SDRF. Responding sharply, CM Mann called this claim “an imaginary figure” and “statistics jugglery,” pointing out that the complete account of SDRF has been placed before the public for anyone to verify.  

Mann Govt accuses Centre of withholding crucial funds

Mann further accused the Centre of withholding crucial funds. “We are not seeking charity, we are asking for our due. More than Rs 50,000 crore of Punjab’s GST share and over ₹8,000 crore for rural development have been stuck with the Centre. Not giving proper support during a disaster and presenting false data is unfortunate,” he said. He appealed that sensitive issues like disaster management should not be politicized and that the Centre should fulfill its constitutional responsibility.  

Chief Minister’s Relief Fund

The state government, on its part, has been providing immediate help to affected farmers using its own resources and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. However, Mann said it is clear that Punjab alone cannot deal with a disaster of this scale without enough support from the Centre. Once again, his government has urged the Centre to sanction the Rs 20,000 crore relief package at the earliest so that aid reaches the affected families quickly.