Flood rehabilitation efforts go in vain

During every natural disaster, politicians make publicized promises to the affectees, assuring them that all losses of property will be compensated. However, for devastated victims rebuilding their lives from scratch after hitting rock bottom, a simple cash transfer can only build paper homes.

According to official figures, the torrential rains of 2022 destroyed at least 2.1 million homes in the rural areas of Sindh alongside damaging an additional 4.9 million acres of agricultural land, leading to a huge increase in the poverty ratio reported among the rural population.

In the aftermath of the calamity, the Sindh government initiated a project to provide financial assistance for the reconstruction of affected houses, however, due to the increase in poverty, the affected people have not been able to benefit much from the project.

Sana Khouja, a spokesperson for the Sindh People's Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), informed that the construction of 600,000 houses had been completed in various districts while 1.3 million houses were under construction.

"The bank accounts of 1.4 million victims have been opened. In total, each victim gets Rs300,000 in installments for the construction of their house with Rs75,000 given as the first installment, followed by two payments of Rs100,000 and a final disbursement of Rs25,000 as the last instalment," said Khouja.

Khalid Mahmood Sheikh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SPHF, informed that flood victims built the roof of their houses after receiving the third installment, after which they started living in their homes within a month.

Denying Sheikh's assertion, Taj Mohammad Marri, a farmer from Sanghar claimed that the majority of affectees who received money in installments for the reconstruction of their houses had not benefited from the scheme. "Many of these affectees have either failed to build their homes on the land or are not living in them. The destruction caused by the 2022 floods led many families towards crippling poverty, forcing them to leave their native areas for employment. Many of those who migrated have still not returned," pointed out Marri.

According to Dr Kaiser Bengali, a renowned economist, the poverty ratio in the districts of Sindh, including Thatta and Sujawal, stands at 75 per cent. "In order to reduce poverty, the government would have to take steps at a larger scale, especially those involving the creation of employment opportunities in the rural areas," highlighted Dr Bengali.

Reportedly, various NGOs, including the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) and the HANDS Welfare Foundation, were hired to oversee the construction of houses across different districts.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity, the head of one such organization acknowledged that the amount given to the victims in instalments was insufficient to build a proper house, but it still held some value for the average impoverished family.

"The implementation of the project for the construction of houses was also delayed due to several reasons. The first survey of the affected houses was conducted in November 2022 while in July 2023 another survey was conducted by the Sindh government to verify the data. In the first survey, the number of completely destroyed houses was less but this number increased in the second survey," revealed the official.