Repatriation of TDPs to take 20 months, cost Rs175b

In the first phase, FATA Secretariat providing each returning family Rs10,000 for transport, Rs 25,000 for subsistence

ISLAMABAD: As the phase-wise return of families affected by ongoing military offensive begins, the government said on Saturday that it will take nearly 20 months to repatriate all the temporarily displaced people (TDPs) to their homes, with the exercise set to cost the exchequer Rs175 billion.

As many as 336,762 families from Federally Administrated Tribal Areas were displaced due to the fighting in the tribal areas and a counter-operation launched by the government last June. This would be carried out in five phases from March 2015 to December 2016.

According to a handout issued by Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the details were released after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting to review the rehabilitation measures for Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and flood affected population in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Deliberating over the cost of repatriation, the handout further revealed that it has been upward revised to Rs175 billion. Initially, the 11th Corp had assessed that rehabilitation of TDPs and reconstruction in the tribal areas would cost around Rs125 billion, Rs75 billion for TDPs and another Rs50 billion for security purposes.

The government had initially hoped to complete the operation within six months. However, the military expanded the scope of the operation beyond North Waziristan, driving costs upwards.

The 11th Corp’s fresh estimates suggest that the operation would continue for at least one and half years and they will need another couple of months for carrying out reconstruction activities, said an official who attended the meeting. However, he said these timelines were tentative and subject to adjustments depending upon the progress achieved during the operation.

The phase wise return of the TDPs of FATA to their homes started on Monday. In the first phase, 25,000 families of Tehsil Sararogha and Sarwakai in South Waziristan returned to their homes. The return of 20, 000 families of kka Khel area of Tehsil Bara in Khyber Agency began on Friday.

Similarly, repatriation of 18,000 families of Mir Ali in North Waziristan is expected to commence from March 31, according to TDPs return plan unveiled by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor.

Cash transfers for returning TDPs

During the meeting, the Secretary EAD Saleem Sethi briefed that the government had so far released Rs1.5 billion for cash transfers to the returnees. He said in the first phase, FATA Secretariat was providing each returning family one time Rs10,000 for transportation and one time Rs 25,000 for subsistence.

The payment was being made through SIM verification followed by National Database Registration Authority verification.

Last week, the Deputy Chief of General Staff and Director General Military Budget had held a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and sought immediate release of Rs7 billion for meeting out the cost of TDPs.

The matters regarding assistance to flood affected population of Punjab and AJK were also discussed during the meeting. The meeting reviewed progress on Pakistan Fund for Disaster Management which is being envisaged to support rehabilitation and reconstruction needs. The Fund would enhance rehabilitation and reconstruction of all phases of disaster management cycle. The Fund is structured with funding from government, development partners and international philanthropy.

The Minister was informed that total Disaster and Need Assessment of flood affectees stood close to $260 million, according to Finance Ministry handout.