Centre Declares Punjab ‘severely flooded’ ; Opens path for Relief and Loan Support
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ September 19,2025
As per available information, the Central Government on Thursday approved Punjab’s proposal to declare the state “severely flooded,” paving the way for enhanced compensation and financial assistance to rebuild after the recent devastation.
Punjab, which has been grappling with its worst floods since 1988, will now be able to get a 50-year soft loan of ₹595 crore under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme.
The declaration is expected to benefit farmers and property owners hit hardest by the calamity. While the Punjab Government has already announced ₹20,000 per acre as compensation for crop losses, the overall relief could go as high as ₹3.5 lakh in cases of severe damage. The Centre’s approval is also likely to result in higher allocations from the State Disaster Response Fund.
According to an interim memorandum submitted on September 7, the state assessed flood-related losses at ₹13,289 crore. These include damages of ₹1,500 crore to the Water Resources Department, ₹103 crore to the Power Sector, ₹1,969 crore to the Public Works Department, and ₹542 crore to the Education Department. Losses were also recorded in the Health, Rural Development, and Animal Husbandry departments.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that 3,200 government schools, 19 colleges, 1,400 hospitals and clinics, and around 8,500 km of roads were destroyed, while approximately 2,500 bridges collapsed.
The floods, which inundated 1.79 lakh hectares of farmland and affected 3.88 lakh people across more than 2,300 villages, have claimed 57 lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier announced an assistance package of ₹1,600 crore for Punjab.
