22 September, 2025 – Chandigarh : What do Punjab’s political parties do to raise resources, much needed for relief work in the flood-ravaged state? With just 16 months to go for the Vidhan Sabha elections, each party is putting its best foot forward, hoping the voters will remember what these political parties did during this time when they vote in early 2027.
Punjab’s precarious fiscal health, with the highest debt-to-GSDP ratio in the country, means that the government is scraping the barrel to help people, who have lost not just loved ones and milch animals, but also returned to damaged houses. With five lakh acres of cultivable land covered with silt brought by the floodwaters, the coming year looks rather bleak, as thousands of farmers have lost the paddy crop and seem likely to lose the next wheat crop as well. It will take months to remove the silt.
Perhaps the most ambitious flood overture has been the ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s newly created fund, the Rangla Punjab Vikas Fund, which it hopes will remain visible on the ground long after the floods become yesterday’s memory.
Created on the lines of PM CARES, the fund has had close to 1,500 contributions within days of its launch. It will not be subject to any audits; funds received from the NRIs will be exempt from the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), while those from corporates will be considered part of their contribution towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Deputy Commissioners of various districts have been writing to business houses, exhorting them to open their treasuries.
The ruling party is also learnt to have tasked its ministers, MPs and other senior leaders to ensure donations. The political graphs of these leaders are said to be dependent on their ability to generate these funds. Top bosses are already planning how to utilise them. Several MLAs who did outstanding work with rescue and relief are now finding that their fellow MLAs have raised more money for the Rangla Punjab Fund. Competition abounds.
The BJP, with its apparently endless cash reserves from the Centre and other states where it is in power, is bringing relief material to the flood-hit people, as stories in The Tribune have noted — the sacks of rations carry pictures of PM Modi, making the connection obvious.
The BJP-ruled Centre is likely to sanction a soft loan of Rs 600 crore soon to help with relief work. The Rs 240-crore second instalment from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has already been given in advance, while additional allocations under several central welfare schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana for the repair of rural roads, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan for rebuilding damaged school infrastructure; and other schemes that help improve drinking water facility in villages and making new borewells, are expected to be announced soon.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, with some help from the SGPC, has been distributing cash and other material, including wheat seeds for cultivating one lakh acres of land. The cash is targeted at village committees in areas where there were breaches in dhussi bandhs and embankments along the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The mother party, split into three, says its hoping to regain the confidence of the people by distributing wheat bags to 50,000 flood-hit families, which carry the party’s logo of “Raj nahin sewa”.
The Congress, though gaining ground in areas not affected by floods, doesn’t seem to be as visible in flood-hit areas, and despite Rahul Gandhi’s visit, does not have a coordinated flood relief action plan. A few days ago, Jalandhar Congress leader Pargat Singh rode a tractor through the flood-hit villages and distributed ration kits; he and state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring have donated money from their pockets, with Warring donating some money to repair a dhussi band, but the party has so far refrained from distributing any cash.
Meanwhile, the last word on what happened to the Rs 12,000 crore fund that should have accumulated under the SDRF is still awaited.
The Tribune