The Punjab government has moved a resolution in the state Assembly, condemning the Centre for not responding to its request for a special financial package for the flood-ravaged state. The resolution, moved by Water Resources Minister Barinder Goyal during a discussion on “Rehabilitation of Punjab” in a special Assembly session on Friday, sought a package of Rs 20,000 crore from the Centre to meet the unprecedented crisis.
The two-day special session has been convened to deliberate on the widespread devastation caused by the floods and the state’s relief measures. The second sitting will take place on September 29.
The resolution castigated the Centre for not responding to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's repeated requests for a meeting to discuss the situation. While the Prime Minister has announced a relief package of Rs 1,600 crore for Punjab, the state government claims it has not received even this amount so far.
Also read: Who drowned Punjab? Not the bureaucrats
Earlier, the proceedings of the special Vidhan Sabha session commenced with tributes to the 59 people of the state who lost their lives in the floods and several eminent personalities who passed away recently. A two-minute silence was observed.
The Assembly paid homage to former minister Harmel Singh Tohra, former MLA Raghubir Singh, actor Jaswinder Singh Bhalla and music director Charanjit Ahuja. Tributes were also paid to martyrs of the armed forces, including Bhanu Pratap Singh Mankotia, Daljit Singh, Rinku Singh, Pritpal Singh and Harminder Singh.
Bajwa seeks probe into floods by HC judge
Addressing the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded an investigation into the recent floods in Punjab by a sitting high court judge. He said till the probe is completed in a three-month timeframe, the state’s irrigation minister and the secretary of the irrigation department should remain suspended.
Bajwa insisted that representatives of all political parties should be included in the inquiry and strict action should be taken against anyone found guilty. He also alleged large-scale misuse of funds allocated for flood management by the Punjab government.
He said he would also raise the issue of the ₹12,000-crore State Disaster Response Fund in the Assembly. “There is a clear contradiction between the statements of the Central and state governments. We will demand answers on whether the funds are with the government or not,” he added.
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