Rana Gurjeet urges PM Modi for Rs 70,000 acre compensation, structural flood reforms in Punjab

April 22, 2024 10:51 am

Published by: PreetiMahajan

The Fact News Service

Kapurthala, September 7

Congress MLA from Kapurthala, Rana Gurjeet Singh, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his scheduled visit to Punjab on September 9, 2025, urging immediate and adequate compensation for the extensive damage caused by the recent floods in the state. Welcoming the Prime Minister’s visit as a sign of concern for the people of Punjab, Rana Gurjeet Singh emphasized that over 4.5 lakh acres of farmland have been severely affected, with kharif crops, particularly paddy and sugarcane, completely destroyed due to heavy rainfall and flooding. He has demanded a minimum compensation of ₹70,000 per acre to help farmers recover their losses and continue agricultural activities.

The letter also draws attention to the widespread loss of homes, milch animals, small-scale rural industries such as sawmills and atta chakkis, and village infrastructure including link roads, dharamshalas, and dispensaries. Rana Gurjeet Singh stressed the need for a comprehensive compensation package that goes beyond crops and covers all aspects of rural life that have been impacted.

Rana Gurjeet Singh has strongly criticized the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for its lack of coordination in managing water releases from the dams, which he claims has significantly worsened the flood situation. He called for the fixing of accountability on BBMB and suggested that it be made liable to compensate Punjab for the damage incurred. He also recommended that while BBMB may remain under central oversight, its operational control and management be handed over to Punjab, with engineers from the state appointed to its irrigation wing, given their better understanding of the regional geography and needs of the farming community.

Highlighting the recurring nature of floods in Punjab, Singh urged the Prime Minister to initiate long-term flood management planning. He also proposed that families living in flood-prone areas along the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers be relocated and given compensation of ₹50 lakh per acre to enable them to start afresh in safer locations. He noted that not only farmers but agricultural labourers, or khet mazdoors, have also suffered immensely and should be compensated adequately. He called for the construction of embankments at critical points along riverbanks to prevent breaches in the future and pointed out that floods have now occurred in 2019, 2023, and again in 2025, indicating a pattern that requires urgent structural intervention.

Singh has further proposed the constitution of a team of engineers to develop mechanisms for recharging Punjab’s rapidly depleting groundwater using surplus floodwater. With groundwater levels dropping by nearly one meter annually and 80 percent of Punjab’s blocks classified as critically overexploited, he stressed that sustainable water management should become a national priority.

In his letter, he also raised the issue of inter-state water sharing, pointing out the disparity where neighboring states like Haryana and Rajasthan demand larger shares of water during the summer months but refuse to accept excess water during floods. He suggested that a fair and cooperative mechanism be developed where all partner states share both the resources and the burdens arising from such natural disasters.

Rana Gurjeet Singh concluded by recommending that BJP Punjab President Sunil Jakhar, who comes from an agrarian background and understands the gravity of the situation, be taken into confidence while designing the relief package. Singh expressed hope that the Prime Minister will respond to these suggestions with empathy and urgency, and take decisive steps to bring relief to the people of Punjab who are facing one of the worst flood crises in recent memory.