F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: In order to rehabilitate the damaged infrastructure and compensate for the losses caused by recent flash floods in different districts of the province, the provincial government has prepared “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Flood Response Plan 2022” under which rehabilitation and compensation activities will be carried out in a phase wise manner.
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has also approved the establishment of a Climate Resilient Infrastructure Fund which will, in addition to providing financial assistance, shall also provide advisory to infrastructure developers. The decision was taken in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan concerning the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Flood Response Plan 2022.
Regarding the Climate Resilient Infrastructure fund, Mahmood Khan directed the concerned to work out modalities and submit formal proposals at the earliest for approval by the competent forum. The Chief Minister said that through the said fund, climate resilient infrastructure will be constructed which is part of the long term planning of the incumbent government for prevention against natural disasters.
The meeting was briefed in detail about different aspects of the Flood Response Plan, damage caused by floods and steps being taken for infrastructure rehabilitation. Mahmood Khan directed stern monitoring of rehabilitation related activities, adding that a three-tire setup has been put in place to ensure efficient utilization of funds. The monitoring and accountability will be carried out at district, departmental and at provincial level by the Monitoring and Evaluation cell to ensure optimum and effective utilization of resources to meet targets and early outcomes.
The meeting was informed that losses incurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the flash floods are estimated at Rs 120.2 billion including damages of Rs 77.7 billion to the public sector and losses of 42.5 billion to the private sector.
As far as sector wise losses are concerned, damages in the irrigation sector are estimated at Rs 22.3 billion, the roads sector at Rs 19.4 billion, the energy and power sector at Rs 11.5 billion, the elementary and secondary education sector at Rs 8.3 billion, the local government sector at Rs 6.7 billion and Rs 4.8 billion in the public health engineering sector.
The participants were informed that Rs 245 million will be disbursed among the legal heirs of people who lost their lives in recent floods while Rs 75 million will be disbursed among the people injured in flood caused incidents. Similarly, Rs 23.7 billion will be spent on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged houses. It was also informed that 107,22 acres of agricultural land has been affected, causing an estimated loss of Rs 16 billion. Addressing the participants of the meeting, the Chief Minister said that, despite financial constraints, the provincial government will put in place all efforts and utilize all available resources to ensure rehabilitation of flood-hit people in the minimum possible time.
The meeting was attended by Minister Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Minister for Irrigation Arshad Ayub Khan, Special Assistant to CM on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Advisor to CM on Communication and works department Riaz Khan, Chief Secretary Dr. Shehzad Bangash, Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, concerned Administrative secretaries and other senior officials.
