Chandigarh: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday witnessed strong political pushback against the Union Government’s recently announced Rs 1,600 crore flood relief package, with the state leadership calling the amount grossly insufficient to address the widespread devastation caused by this year’s monsoon floods.
Kicking off the special session of the Assembly, Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal introduced a resolution condemning the Centre’s aid package, describing it as “merely symbolic” compared to the Punjab government’s official demand of Rs 20,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation efforts.
“This amount does not come close to what Punjab requires to recover from the massive damage suffered during the floods,” Goyal told the House. “We strongly condemn this half-hearted approach.”
The resolution, which was passed by voice vote, calls upon the Union Finance Ministry to reassess the scale of damage and revisit the decision on the quantum of financial support.
“Not Enough to Rebuild Lives”
According to state officials, 23 districts in Punjab were severely impacted during the July floods, affecting over 2,500 villages, displacing hundreds of thousands, and causing extensive damage to agriculture, homes, and public infrastructure.
Minister Goyal argued that the central relief falls drastically short of what’s needed for restoration of roads, schools, hospitals, irrigation systems, and most importantly, compensation to affected families and farmers.
Political Fault Lines Exposed
The resolution also included a pointed critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Goyal noting that no meeting was granted to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, despite multiple formal requests to discuss the flood situation.
“Not only has the financial help been minimal, but the Centre has also failed to give the issue the urgency it deserves. The Prime Minister didn’t even meet our Chief Minister,” Goyal said, adding that such a response reflects an “apathy towards Punjab’s suffering.”
Opposition leaders, while supporting the call for greater aid, urged the AAP-led state government to also improve transparency in the disbursal of existing relief funds and expedite on-ground rehabilitation.
