Punjab declares floods in state natural calamity

The Punjab government on Monday declared the floods in the state a natural calamity.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh directed the Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR) to issue the necessary notification at the earliest.

Amarinder Singh has asked the FCR to officially declare the situation a natural calamity with the village as a unit to help the affected people get insurance claims against the loss suffered by them.

The decision was taken during a meeting held to review the preparedness to tackle floods in the state.

During the meeting, the CM asked the Finance Department to immediately clear Rs 100 crore pending against previous crop/harvest, an official release said.

The chief minister, who had earlier in the day visited flood-hit areas of Rupnagar (Ropar), directed all deputy commissioners to closely monitor the situation in coordination with police, NDRF, SDRF and all other state government departments.

They have been told to speed up rescue and relief operations besides taking preventive measures.

The compensation as per the prescribed norms should be disbursed expeditiously in case of death, the chief minister directed the officials while ordering a temporary subsistence allowance for migrant labours, who otherwise may not be covered in the existing relief norms of the state policy.

The CM also ordered to immediately plug the breaches in water bodies with the help of the Army, if needed, while asking all DCs to remain alert with regard to the release of additional water from dams.

It was also decided at the meeting that officials at the Chief Minister Secretariat would maintain a close liaison with the office of the Army Commander, Western Command, Chandimandir, and pro-actively apprise them of the nature and quantum of assistance required.