May 8, 2006	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 9, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, May 7: The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) will hold a national donors conference in July to seek support of the private sector for building schools and hospitals in the quake-hit parts of the country.

This was said by Erra Chairman Altaf M. Salim while talking to Dawn here on Sunday.

He said instead of seeking cash donations from the participants of the conference, Erra would ask them to provide health and educational facilities for the people affected by the devastating earthquake.

Answering a question, he said Erra was not pursuing flawed policies and there was no justification for protests against its performance.

He said the survey of 100,000 houses out of the total 600,000 to be rebuilt had been completed and hoped that the entire survey work for the housing sector would be completed in the next two months.

He pointed out that a formula for reconstruction had been evolved after discussions with the respective governments. He said nobody could be given compensation before the survey, which was a requirement to maintain transparency in the process.

A mechanism for transparency has been put in place in consultation with the donors, he added. He said the survey teams were in every area and if contacted by quake survivors were required to do it in a maximum of three days time.

He said construction material hubs had been created to cater to the requirement of building materials.

Answering a question, he said the option to import cement from India and other countries would remain open if a need for it was felt. He, however, pointed out that the price of cement had dropped in the recent days.

Replying to another question, he brushed aside the impression that he was a powerless chairman of Erra and the real powers rested with the deputy chairman who happened to be a lieutenant general.

He said both of them had their own roles to play, adding that “there is a good level of coordination between us”.