SAD MP Harsimrat Badal calls for judicial probe into ‘missing’ flood aid in Punjab

Chandigarh: Asserting that "farmers did not receive a single rupee in compensation for the floods which hit Punjab in 2025, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday called for a judicial probe into the status of the Rs 12,500-crore state disaster response fund (SDRF) "to ascertain how the money was misappropriated".Participating in the discussion on agriculture demands in Parliament, the MP said crops across four lakh acres of land were destroyed in Punjab, following which the Centre announced farmers would get a compensation of Rs 12,500 crore, which it said was lying with the state under the SDRF head. "Twenty Union ministers also visited Punjab during the floods in what can be best described as flood tourism and assured all help. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) turned around and said it did not have these funds," she said.She alleged "mismanagement of the situation during the floods by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB)." She said as Punjab did not have a member in BBMB, "the board failed to read the situation correctly and water was released from the Bhakra dam without due planning, compounding the situation during the floods last year".She demanded Punjab be given due representation in the Board as earlier so that its interests could be safeguarded.She also demanded that Punjab's rights over its river waters be restored as per the Riparian Principle. She said "half of Punjab's river waters had already been given to Rajasthan and "efforts are now afoot to release more water to Haryana through the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal". The SAD leader also demanded that the Swaminathan report be implemented in toto and that MSP be calculated on the C 2 plus 50 percent formula, which ensured a 50 per cent profit to farmers over the comprehensive cost of production. Speaking about the effect of the Iran war on the agriculture sector in the country, she said "basmati cargo worth Rs 4 lakh crore was stuck in passage and efforts should be made to ensure it reached its destinations." She also asked "what steps the central govt was taking to fill the likely shortfall due to stoppage in import of urea fertiliser from Iran."Speaking about the agriculture budget, she asked the central govt to "explain how farmers' income would be doubled when the share of agriculture sector in the country's budget was halved and when the fertiliser subsidy was slashed by Rs 15,679 crore."