CHANDIGARH: More than 5,300 acres of land were washed away in 15 out of the 23 districts in Punjab during the floods that ravaged the state in August and September. Teams from the Union Government are expected to visit the state to assess the losses caused due to the floods.
Sources said that the state government has completed the special girdawari of the flood-affected areas in the state, and found that 5,307 acres of land have been washed away due to heavy flow of water in the Ravi, Beas and the Sutlej rivers.
The highest loss was in the Amritsar district, where around 1,515 acres were washed away, followed by the Ferozepur district, which lost 1,101 acres, as per data with the revenue department of the state government, said sources. Land was not washed away in Bathinda, Faridkot, Mansa, Muktsar, Sangrur, Barnala, Malerkotla, and Fatehgarh Sahib districts.
"In the past many decades, no one has ever witnessed or heard that such huge portions of land being washed away. A second assessment was done as when we got the initial data, no one could believe it. Now the affected land owners will be given compensation by the government,’’ said an officer.
It is learnt that, as per the norms from the State Disaster Response Fund, the owners who lost land will get a compensation of Rs 19,000 per acre. Sources added that most of the washed-away land was owned by private individuals, highlighting that the land had been encroached first and was later allotted to people by the successive state governments.
Not only were these lands inside what was once a riverbed, but it was also at a throwaway price, prompting people to buy the land when the risk of floods was not grave. However, after many decades, rivers were in spate, which increased the risk of floods.
Sources pointed out that illegal mining also contributed to the land being washed away, as both the AAP-led state government and the BJP-led central government have been at loggerheads over the issue of illegal mining in the riverbeds. Sources added that deep craters were developed on the affected land, making it uncultivable for another three to four years.
They further said the central government teams will be visiting the state as the Punjab government has already submitted a memorandum requesting Rs 12,905 crores in compensation for flood-related losses. "The Centre is assessing the extent of the damage and to verify the estimate sent by the state government, a team of experts from the union government will soon visit the state,’’ said an officer.
Earlier, the state government had drafted a memorandum seeking Rs 13,300 crore from the Centre for compensation and reconstruction, but was finally scaled down to Rs 12,905 crore.
