This story is from August 19, 2019

Punjab government declares state floods as ‘natural calamity’

Punjab government declares state floods as ‘natural calamity’
Collapsed and damaged house after floods at Naggal village in Punjab
CHANDIGARH: Punjab government on Monday declared the current flood situation in the affected villages of the state as a natural calamity, with chief minister Amarinder Singh giving directions for necessary notification at the earliest.
The CM has asked the financial commissioner revenue (FCR) to officially declare a natural calamity with the village as a unit, in order to facilitate the affected people to claim insurance against loss from various companies.
This would also help the banks, especially the state cooperative banks, to restructure and defer the recovery of crop loans from farmers, as per the norms of Reserve Bank of India.
He was chairing a high-level meeting to review the flood preparedness in the state. During the meeting, he asked the finance department to immediately clear the pending relief funds to the tune of around Rs 100 crore, in respect of the previous crops/harvests, for expeditious disbursement by the revenue department, through the respective deputy commissioner.
Compensation as per the prescribed norms should be disbursed expeditiously in case of death, to the next of kin forthwith. There will be temporary subsistence allowance to the migrant labour, who may otherwise not be covered in the existing relief norms of the state policy, to be paid out of the chief minister’s relief fund.
Amarinder further ordered the drainage department to immediately plug the breaches, with the help of the Army if needed, while asking all DCs to remain on high alert in case of additional release from the flood-gates of the dams.
It was also decided at the meeting that the chief minister secretariat as well as chief secretary would maintain close liaison with the office of the Army Commander, Western Command, Chandimandir, and pro-actively apprise them of the nature and quantum of Army assistance required.
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About the Author
Vibhor Mohan

Vibhor Mohan is Special Correspondent with The Times of India’s Punjab Bureau at Chandigarh. He holds post-graduate degrees in Mass Communication and English and has nearly 15 years of experience, having covered important stations in Punjab. He covers news concerning Punjab politics, NRI affairs and the power sector, besides specializing in writing on architecture, especially on the works of Le Corbusier, the man who gave India its first designed city – Chandigarh.

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