The first contribution was made by Sahney on September 19, 2025, and the most recent by Hardeep Singh Puri on November 17, 2025.
Punjab Floods Listed as ‘National Calamity’ on eSakshi Portal; MPs Contribute INR 9.25 Crore for Relief
According to Rao Inderjit Singh’s revelation in the Rajya Sabha, the 2025 Punjab floods have now been officially declared as a “national calamity” on the government’s eSakshi portal. This is mainly used for parliamentary project tracking but also enables MPs to contribute from their MPLAD funds in case of a calamity.
According to the statement, MPs from across party lines and states have contributed a total of INR 9.25 crore under the portal’s “calamity consent” provision to support relief work in flood-hit Punjab.
Under the relief work, seven MPs donated INR 1 crore each, two contributed INR 75 lakh each, and three others contributed INR 25 lakh each. The MPs who gave INR 1 crore each include Hardeep Singh Puri, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sanjay Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Jual Oram, and Vikramjit Singh Sahney. The first contribution was made by Sahney on September 19, 2025, and the most recent by Hardeep Singh Puri on November 17, 2025.
The minister said that once a calamity is declared on the portal, all MPs nationwide are eligible to contribute up to INR 1 crore from their MPLAD funds irrespective of their state or region.
Designating the floods as a “national calamity” on the portal does not automatically alter the legal status of disaster classification. Rather, it triggers eligibility for MPs’ contributions, enabling a nationwide response to a state-level disaster.
For the people of Punjab, many of whom lost homes, livelihoods and farmland, this INR 9.25-crore contribution represents a concrete sign of solidarity from across the country. But beyond the figure lies a deeper expectation: timely, transparent and effective utilisation of these funds to assist rescue, relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding. With this formal recognition and collective contribution, the floods of 2025 are no longer merely a regional crisis: they have entered the national consciousness
Source: Times of India
