Centre should immediately release Rs 60,000 crore pending funds: Punjab Minister Harpal Cheema

Chandigarh [India], September 2 (ANI): Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema has urged the Union government to release Rs 60,000 crore in pending funds, citing the grave flood situation that has devastated large parts of the state.
"Due to continuous rainfall in the mountains and our neighbouring states, a flood situation has arisen in Punjab. There is significant damage, but our Punjab Police is actively deployed on the ground. Our Chief Minister has written a letter to the Prime Minister of the country, requesting the immediate release of the Rs 60,000 crore owed to us by the central government. So far, there has been no response from them, but today Union Home Minister Amit Shah called Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.We request all BJP leaders of Punjab to ensure the immediate release of our Rs 60,000 crore so that we can help the people of Punjab more effectively," Harpal Cheema told ANI.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately release Rs 60,000 crore in pending funds for the state, citing the grave flood situation that has devastated large parts of the state.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Mann described the disaster as the "most severe natural calamity in decades", which has already affected nearly 1,000 villages and lakhs of people.The Chief Minister said that heavy rainfall and water released from dams have worsened the situation in Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Hoshiarpur districts.

He warned that the crisis could deepen further in the coming days.
According to his assessment, around three lakh acres of agricultural land, mostly under paddy cultivation, have been submerged. The loss of crops before harvest, combined with livestock deaths, has left rural families, who depend on farming and dairy, reeling under immense distress. (ANI)