Punjab govt vindicated as Union Minister states floods were triggered by unusual rainfall, not dam failures, countering political accusations.

According to Cabinet Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, the Punjab govt has repeatedly insisted that no governance or dam management flaws were to blame for the terrible floods that struck the state this year. Rather, the floods were brought on by heavy and unusual rainfall. Opposition parties disputed these facts and accused the Punjab government of unfounded charges whenever the government or its spokespeople made them public.

But in response to a query from Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary, the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, has now unequivocally stated that excessive rainfall, not a dam management failure, was the cause of the floods. This declaration demonstrates the falsity of the opposition’s accusations and supports the facts that the Punjab government has constantly stated.

Speaking at a press conference at the Saurabh Complex in Lehra, Goyal claimed that Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan visited Punjab after the floods struck, but he made another unfounded allegation that the floods were caused by mining operations. In a technical sense, no such evidence has ever surfaced, he said.

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The Minister went on to explain that opposition members in the Legislative Assembly had made unfounded claims that the Ranjit Sagar Dam had released 7.15 lakh cusecs of water. Nevertheless, he had previously declared in writing that only 2.25 lakh cusecs were discharged. It was a natural occurrence that the leftover water arrived from nearby tributaries and river catchment areas.

According to Goyal, Punjabis thought the Center would provide significant assistance when PM Narendra Modi inspected the situation during the flood disaster. In contrast to what was anticipated, the Central Government only announced ₹1,600 crore in compensation, even though the overall damages were close to ₹20,000 crore. He added that the Center’s inadequate compensation plan was never criticized by those who continued to politicize the flood problem.

Goyal claimed that the Central Government has consistently taken a stepmotherly stance toward Punjab, regardless of whether it is led by the Congress or the BJP. The riparian principle was first violated by taking away Punjab’s rivers, and now efforts are being made to undermine state authority by meddling in issues like Punjab University and BBMB.

In addition, he called the decision to send Central security personnel to Bhakra Dam instead of the Punjab Police “dictatorial,” pointing out that the Punjab Police is known across the world for its capacity to deal with any crisis. Punjab-cadre officials who have been with the Board for more than 20 years were undermined when the Center recently released a circular to choose the BBMB Secretary on its own terms. The circular was secretly withdrawn when those officers went to the Hon’ble High Court and the decision seemed likely to be against the Center.

According to the Minister, the Punjab government has dutifully called special Assembly sessions occasionally to address important state concerns, solicited feedback from all MLAs, and enacted resolutions in response. Opposition parties persisted in making baseless charges, though, and now the whole country is aware of the reality. The Punjabi government has never kept the public in the dark and has always provided fact-based information. The truth has won out today once more.