F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Apropos an opinion piece appeared in a National Daily on September 25, 2017 it is to clarify that 96 % of the TDPs return has been completed in an informed, voluntary and dignified manner. Rest of the 04 % families with majority of displaced families from North Waziristan Agency, their return process is in the final stage.
All the returned families have been provided with the Transport Grant @ 10,000/- PKR and Return Cash Grant @ 25,000 per family and in this connection, more than 8 Billion PKR have been disbursed. Six months return food ration is also provided to the returnees in their area of origin.
Similarly, immediately upon return, their houses’ damages survey is conducted. According to estimates, around 80,000 Houses are either fully damaged or partially damaged in Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan Agency out of which 49,303 Houses has been surveyed by the survey team, 37,592 Houses validated by the respective Agency Steering Committee and 28,730 beneficiaries has been compensated @ PKR 400,000/- for fully damages house and PKR 160,000 for partially damaged house.
Furthermore, an amount of 5.353 billion was earmarked for Immediate Rehabilitation, including the rehabilitation of school, health facilities, water supply schemes with work on these schemes was under way. Only in North Waziristan Agency, a total of 737 Schemes have been identified out of which funds have been released for 498 schemes with majority of the projects on health, education, public health, road and rural development. Similarly, in permanent reconstruction, around 15 billion have been released and work is in progress on various projects to be completed by December, 2018.
Under the return Policy Framework signed by the government and humanitarian community, 96 % of the TDPs have been returned to their area of origin in a dignified manner to which the government provided all the possible facilities. Another program in FATA TDP Emergency Recovery Project funded by the World Bank with a total financial outlay of 114 M USD, whereby each returned family is getting Unconditional Grant of PKR 16,000 in four instalments and Conditional Grant of PKR 7500 in three instalments at the One Stop Shop (OSS) established in each agency.
All the cash transfer projects are controlled electronically with minimum human handling and are disbursed in an informed, transparent and dignified manner at the door step of TDPs. A proper grievance mechanism has also been established in FDMA HQ and various locations. The project has played a vital role in boosting the local economies and livelihood for the return families. Government is committed to initiate more projects so as to sustain these returns and provide livelihood opportunities in their area of origin and in this connection discussions are underway with different developmental and government partners.
The informed reporter has only touched upon the World Bank assistance for TDPs and has ignored various initiatives of the government aimed at rehabilitation and uplift of their socio economic life. Beside TDPs specific interventions, FATA own Annual Development Plan (ADP) and the humanitarian community is also largely targeting the returnee’s area.
