Disaster rehabilitation: Guidelines issued for flood compensation payment

The plan approved by the CM is based on the 2010 flood relief policy.

LAHORE:

The provincial government on Saturday issued for compensation to be paid to the families affected by the floods in rivers Chenab and Jhelum.

According to the criteria, Rs25,000 would be given to families from areas where floodwater had inundated 40 per cent of the land.

These areas have been declared calamity-hit by the Board of Revenue.

Residents of the areas where less than 40 per cent of the area has been affected were declared partially affected and would be give compensation after a survey on target loss was conducted.

According to a statement, the government has approved a package of Rs15 billion for financial assistance to flood-affected families in the first phase. Payments would start from September 29.

In the second phase, which would start from October 25, compensation for losses to houses and crops would be paid based on findings of a survey.

Floods had affected 16 districts and at least 11,685 square kilometers was inundated.

As many as 282 people were killed, of which 162 were killed in the rains and 120 died in floods.

The government had constituted district review committee for a list of beneficiaries. The district administrations have also been directed to set up disbursement centres at flood-affected areas across the province.

The governments has also constituted district grievance redress committees headed by retired judges or civil servants in BS-19 to address complaints against decisions of review committee.

The government further notified district monitoring committees to supervise the procedure adopted by revenue teams while carrying out surveys and propose improvement in the procedure.

The government decided to provide Rs25,000 per family in all districts where 40 percent of areas was damaged by flood as compensation for loss of crops.

An official of the Board of Revenue said that the criterion was approved by Chief Minster Shahbaz Sharif and was based on the policy adopted in the 2010 floods.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2014.