Punjab Governor rejects state's plea for revision of norms related to State Disaster Response Fund

Amid the ongoing row between the Centre and the state’s Aam Aadmi Party government over the norms for use of State Disaster Response Fund, Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has said that the SDRF norms were finalised for the entire country and could not be changed for one single state.

He emphasised that any revision in norms could be done on the basis of a collective decision and not at the instance of a state. He was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an event organised here yesterday. He also reiterated that Rs 12,000 crore in SDRF was available with the state government for relief and compensation.

His comments come in the wake of the state government’s demand for revision of norms, allowing the state to offer higher compensation to the victims of the worst-ever floods in Punjab in the past four decades. While the Centre insists that the state has enough funds at its disposal, the state government has maintained that they have just about Rs 6,000 crore in the SDRF.

Earlier this week, when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a flood relief package of Rs 20,000 crore, citing losses of Rs 13,800 crore, Shah too had said that the state had Rs 12,000 crore in its SDRF kitty.