Disaster Response Funds in Disarray, Another Round of Rains Floods Rivers

On 30 Sep, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to request more funds for flood relief. Soon after the meeting, the union government asked Panjab to utilize USD 1,419M lying in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Panjab has not been able to provide specific details of the utilization of this fund despite questions being raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the union government. Panjab has not maintained a separate account for the SDRF expenditure as required. The money was kept in the general pool and spent on meeting routine government expenditure. Meanwhile, despite the South West monsoon receding, due to western disturbance over the Indian subcontinent, Panjab and adjoining states saw heavy rains on 6-7 Oct. Even from 1-6 Oct, Panjab received 415% excess rain inundating grain markets where paddy was stored post sale. This has led to authorities releasing water from dams causing a spate in Panjab’s rivers, especially Satluj and the Harike headworks which saw 112K cusecs water on 7 Oct morning. In the past three weeks since the Aug-Sep floods ended, the Panjab govt has blamed the Indian Metrological Department for wrong weather predictions, the Bhakra Beas Management Board which controls Bhakra and Pong dams, and the union government by passing a resolution in the Legislative Assembly, but neglected to do what it could to desilt the dams. Silt in Bhakra has reduced the dam’s water holding capacity by 25%, river Satluj’s carrying capacity by two-thirds, yet there was no effort to clean them at war-footing. The people continue to suffer the vagaries of nature with the wheat sowing period shrinking even further. Concurrently, The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has conducted tests in most flood affected districts to assess the impact on soil. The pH levels were alkaline and electrical conductivity remained low. Organic carbon content averaged above 0.75%, exceeding Panjab’s usual 0.5%, with some samples crossing 1%. This is good for crops but the soil has also hardened and needs extra tilling (earlier coverage).