AJNALA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said chief minister Bhagwant Mann had enacted a drama in a specially convened session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to hide his abject failure in releasing any money for the flood hit farmers and labourers of the State.
The SAD president was touring the most severe flood hit areas in this constituency during the course of which he flagged off 200 trolleys of maize silage for 100 flood affected villages.
Speaking to newsmen on the occasion, the SAD president said instead of using the special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to broaden the scope of compensation to include all crop damaged by floods and ensuring compensation is not limited to five acres per farmer and increased to Rs 50, 000 per acre, the chief minister chose to waste crores to indulge in a propaganda exercise. “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has become the first ruling party in the history of Punjab to troop to the well of the house to “protest” against the central government. This was done to shift the responsibility for providing for the flood affected farmers, labourers and house owners to the centre. It’s very well to demand adequate compensation from the centre but the AAP govt should first disburse the Rs 12, 000 crore State Disaster Response Fund in it’s possession to the flood hit and then ask the centre for additional funds”.
Condemning the manner in which compensation norms were being twisted to deny fair compensation to farmers, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “first of all compensation has been fixed at only Rs 20, 000 per acre for crop damage. Farmers are not likely to get this figure also as Revenue department staff has been asked to give only 25 per cent and 50 per cent damage claims which will limit the compensation amount between Rs 2, 000 to Rs 5, 000 per acre only”.
He also asserted that those ploughing land on river beds and well as those who had taken land on lease were being denied compensation.
Badal also demanded that accountability for mismanagement of the operations of the Ranjit Sagar dam and the Shahpur barrage be fixed at the very top instead of targeting junior level engineers. He said it should be disclosed as to who allowed water to accumulate for twenty days during the monsoon season before it was released in one go after crossing the danger mark. “This abrupt release of 2.5 lakh cusecs of water for three days simultaneously destroyed crops in lakhs of acres of land.
Mr Badal said the gates of the Shahpur barrage also collapsed due to criminal negligence on the part of the AAP government.
He said the government did not pay heed to written requests for repairing the barrage six months before the monsoons due to which they simply collapsed. “This is the reason why I say the floods in Punjab are a Mann made tragedy”, he added.
The SAD president also visited the bundh at Bowli village and met Baba Jodh Singh ji who is engaged in Kar Sewa to strengthen the bundh. He also paid obeisance at Gurdwara Baba Gamm Chak Sahib. Acceding to public demand on the occasion he also announced to send Rs 5 lakh for gurdwara sewa as well as to fulfill requirements for strengthening bundhs and desilting fields.
Senior leaders Jodh Singh Samra, Rajwinder Singh Raja Ladeh and Rana Lopoke accompanied the SAD president on the occasion.