Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Tuesday claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has described the Rs 1,600-crore relief announced for the state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “token amount”, promising further financial assistance. Two hours later, the Centre said that Shah informed Mann that Rs 12,000 crore was available in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), and Punjab was yet to submit a required memorandum to the Centre.
The two statements came soon after Mann met Shah at the latter’s residence in Delhi. Mann told the media, “He heard me intently. He told me that Rs 1600 crore is a token amount. They will help the state financially. They are the ‘maalik’. But it is my right to put my side across. People have given me this responsibility,” he said.
A statement quoting Shah, however, said that he told Punjab CM that that in SDRF, the state has sufficient funds, which can be utilised for the relief and immediate restoration to the affected people.
“An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) was constituted on September 1, 2025, without waiting for the receipt of memorandum from Punjab. The central team visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessment of damages in the state. The state government, however, is yet to submit a detailed memorandum. After receipt of the memorandum, the same will be considered by the Central as per the Government of India approved norms,” said the statement.
A controversy had erupted in Punjab after floods over the issue of SDRF. While PM Modi had stated that Rs 12,000 crore was lying in SDRF, the state government had contested the claim. Also, the Aam Aadmi Party-led government had also criticised the Centre for announcing a “meagre” flood relief of Rs 1600 crore. The government had called a special Vidhan Sabha session, concluded on Monday, in which a resolution was passed condemning the Centre for the “meagre” amount.
As perv the statement issued by MHA, Shah said the Modi government is standing shoulder to shoulder with the people of Punjab and is committed to providing all possible help to the people affected by the recent flood in the state.
During the meeting the chief minister was informed that under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), Punjab has sufficient funds to the tune of Rs 12,589.59 crore, which can be utilised for the relief and immediate restoration to the affected people according to the Government of India norms.
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“The central government has provided all possible assistance to the state administration, in search, rescue and immediate restoration during the recent floods in the state,” it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Punjab on September 9, 2025 and reviewed the flood situation and damages caused in state. Out of the financial assistance of Rs 1,600 crore announced by the Prime Minister, Rs 805 crore (including 170 crore sanctioned by National Highways Authority of India) has already been released to the state government or intended beneficiaries under various schemes, the ministry’s statement said.
It further said that the rest will be released on receipt of relevant information from the state.
The home ministry has already issued guidelines for Recovery and Reconstruction (R&R) Funding Window under SDRF and National Disaster Response fund (NDRF) on August 14, 2024.
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In the statement, the ministry also pointed that as detailed in the guidelines, in the aftermath of a severe disaster, the state government needs to conduct Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in consultation with State Disaster Management Authority or National Disaster Management Authority (if need be) for assessment of recovery and reconstruction needs.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sought the intervention of the home minister and demanded a special package for the state in view of massive damage caused due to recent unprecedented floods, a release issued by the Punjab government said.
During his meeting with Shah, Mann said the relief of Rs 1600 crore announced by Centre was minuscule in the wake of grave loss suffered by state. He also sought upward revision in norms for awarding compensation to the flood victims from SDRF or NDRF.
He apprised Shah that Punjab has faced one of its worst floods in decades, affecting more than 20 lakh people across 2,614 villages, with 6.87 lakh people displaced.
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The chief minister said that the disaster has caused widespread losses as more than 4.8 lakh acres of crops have been destroyed, more than 17,000 houses damaged and over 2.5 lakh livestock affected, according to the release issued by the state government.
He also said that major damage have been caused to 4657 km of rural roads, 485 bridges, 1,417 culverts and 190 mandis, it added.
Mann said the preliminary estimate of losses stands at Rs 13,832 crores, covering agriculture, infrastructure, health, education and livelihoods. The figure is likely to touch Rs 20,000 crore in the coming days. “I told him Punjab has been standing with the country. Now, Punjab needs help to be supported. There is no credit war. I told him that Rs 1600 crore is meagre. He said that was a token money. We will give more.”
A government statement after the meeting said that Mann sought a special package for the state in view of massive damage caused due to recent unprecedented floods.
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He said that the current SDRF/NDRF norms are grossly inadequate to address the actual scale of damages adding that input subsidy where crop loss is 33% and above has been fixed as Rs 6800 per acre by the MHA. He said that paying such a petty amount would be unfair to the farmers as the crops were almost at the harvesting stage, so Rs 50,000 per acre should be paid to the farmers.
The Chief Minister said that he had already flagged the issue with the Ministry adding that as no response was there so the State has enhanced the compensation at its level by contributing from the State Budget. He said that in a healing touch the flood victims the state government has decided to enhance the compensation of 26 to 33 per cent crop loss to Rs 10,000 per acre from existing Rs 2000 per acre under SDRF norms, 33 to 75 per cent crop loss to Rs 10,000 from existing Rs 6800 per acre and for 75 to 100 per cent crop loss compensation has been increased to Rs 20,000 per acre again from existing Rs 6800.
The Chief Minister said that in the Rs 20,000 per acre compensation being given to the farmers the state government will contribute Rs 14,900 which is the highest in the country. He said that the compensation for fully damaged/ destroyed houses and severely damaged houses should be doubled from existing Rs1.20 lakh per house in plain areas to Rs 2.40 lakh per house. Mann said that for partially damaged houses (other than huts) the compensation should be Rs 50,000 per house instead of existing Rs 6500 per house for pucca houses and Rs10,000 per house instead of existing Rs 4000 per house for kutcha houses.
