Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Planning Commission of India (PCI) to send a team for assessing the loss caused in the state due to the floods besides suggesting measures to avert such natural tragedies in future.
Talking to the media persons after visiting nine flood affected villages of Sri Muktsar Sahib district here today on the last leg of his four days tour in flooded parts of state, the Chief Minister said that the disaster caused by the floods was a national disaster and it was the responsibility of entire nation to bail the people out in this hour of crisis. He said that the Centre must dispatch a high level team of PCI to tour the flood ravaged regions of the state and suggest about the precautionary measures to avoid such situation in the future. Mr. Badal said that he would soon take up this matter with the top brass of the PCI so that a timely action could be taken on the issue.
Likewise the Chief Minister also said that the state government would also raise the issue of enhancing the amount of relief to the flood victims with the Finance Commission of India, to assure adequate compensation to the flood victims. He pointed out that the relief given to the flood victims was too inadequate to help them in this critical situation so the need of the hour was to revise it rationally so that the losses of the people could be minimized. Mr. Badal said that the state government would take every possible step to ensure that maximum compensation was awarded to the farmers and the people so that a helping hand could be extended to them.
The Chief Minister reiterated that on its part the state government had already ordered to defer the recovery of crop loans of the Co-operative societies thereby converting the short term crop loans of farmers into medium term crop loans in order to ease out pressure of repayment on them. Mr. Badal said that he had even asked the officers to recover the loans in easy installments to relieve the farmers of enormous financial burden on account of repayment.
Replying to another query, the Chief Minister categorically said that there was no plan of the government to mortgage the property of the state for fetching the funds to manage its day-to-day affairs. Describing the media reports to this effect by our opponents as absolute canards and baseless, he said that nothing in this regard has been so far initiated. Mr. Badal categorically said that the financial position of the state was sound enough to meet its fiscal obligations and the malicious propaganda made by Congress regarding it was ‘farce’.
Later on the Chief Minister accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Mr. Sher Singh Ghubaya, MLA Malout Mr. Harpreet Singh, Financial Commissioner Revenue Mr. NS Kang, his Principal Secretary Mr. SK Sandhu and Principal Secretary Irrigation Mr. Sarvesh Kaushal visited the flood relief camp at Bamm village. During his interaction with the victims of the flood affected areas, he assured that no stone would be left unturned by the state government to help them in this peculiar situation. Mr. Badal said that the state government was duty bound to help the victims of this natural tragedy adding that efforts for their relief and rehabilitation were being made on war footing.