The minister said over 500,000 houses were damaged and crops worth Rs 81 billion destroyed by the floods. He was speaking at the start of a debate in the assembly on the floods and their aftermath.
About the relief work done by the provincial administration, Sanaullah said that the government established 327 relief camps and more than 1,000 relief points where they distributed food and other necessities to the survivors of the floods.
He told the house that the government had spent Rs4 billion directly to help the survivors. It planned to distribute 833,000 Watan Cards, of which 184,831 had been handed out already.
These cards, one for each family, are meant to replace lost identity cards and entitle the bearer to subsidies on food, healthcare and house building.
Sanaullah said the province would spend Rs17 billion on the rehabilitation of the survivors. Half of this sum came from the federal government.
He said that the government planned to build 204 model villages consisting of 50 to 100 houses each in the flood-hit areas. Each model village would cost a minimum of Rs30 million to build. The minister said the government was soliciting donations from private individuals and organisations for these model villages. At the Donors Conference in Islamabad, it had received pledges for money to build 250 houses in 25 villages.
“If people want to help the victims, the model village scheme is the best way for it,” Sanaullah said. In response to the minister’s speech, Opposition Leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin said the government should have acted quicker to ease the devastation caused by the floods. He demanded that the government tell the house how many times canals had been illegally breached. He also demanded that the government give each family affected by the floods Rs0.5 million in compensation and write off their loans. The government must also set up a transparent audit system for the relief funds, he said.
More Dams needed
The opposition leader also called for the construction of Kalabagh Dam, and Senior Minister Raja Riaz took up this theme in his comments. He said the provincial and federal government should be working quickly to build water reservoirs.
“India is building seven dams on the Chenab,” he said. “The condition of the Chenab will be like the Sutlej and Ravi when they are finished. We should do something before this happens.”
Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood later adjourned the assembly session till 10am Thursday.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2010.
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