Punjab's largest damage survey begins

Political tensions over relief mechanism deepen

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has launched a provincewide flood survey to record the damage and provide compensation to families struggling in the aftermath of this year's heavy rains.

The initiative, billed as one of the largest relief assessments in Punjab's history, comes as political tensions within the ruling coalition deepen over how aid should be delivered.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who inaugurated the survey, said the effort would ensure that "every single flood victim is compensated and resettled." She described the 2,200 survey teams - comprising roughly 10,000 members drawn from the Pakistan Army, revenue officials, agricultural and livestock experts, and district administrations — as her "eyes, ears, and hands." At the launch, she administered an oath to the teams and framed their work as a duty to the people of Punjab.

According to government figures, 1,629 teams are already deployed in 26 districts, documenting flood losses in both rural and urban areas. Data on more than 27,500 affected individuals has been collected. Nearly 48,100 acres of agricultural land have been surveyed, while the destruction of more than 8,300 homes has been recorded. The survey has also recorded the loss of 1,700 livestock, a blow to farming families who rely on dairy and animal husbandry for survival.

The compensation framework announced by the government includes Rs1 million for a destroyed house, Rs500,000 for a damaged house, Rs500,000 for livestock losses, and Rs20,000 per acre for farmers, capped at 12 acres.

The chief minister stressed that transparency and accuracy would remain central to the exercise, with strict monitoring by commissioners, deputy and assistant commissioners.

In Kasur district, teams are scheduled to begin assessments on Wednesday.

The assessments are expected to continue across other affected regions until all affected households are accounted for. Authorities have urged citizens to cooperate with enumerators, promising that the collected data will feed directly into financial aid, crop compensation, and housing support programmes.

But the campaign has rapidly become entangled in political friction. The Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), a coalition partner of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at the federal and provincial levels, has pressed the government to distribute the assistance through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). PPP leaders argue that the programme already has reliable databases and established disbursement channels, allowing aid to reach families immediately.

PPP leaders and lawmakers said that delays in compensation were worsening public hardship.