ISLAMABAD Oct 6: The federal government on Friday decided to provide Rs3 billion for early payment of housing subsidy to the earthquake-affected people of 34 union councils of the NWFP and Azad Kashmir.

Thousands of affected people are demanding a waiver on the housing and agricultural loans as their houses have been destroyed and farmland turned uncultivable.

The amount will be used to set off the loans of the House Building Finance Corporation and Zarai Taraqiati Bank to be paid by the owners of damaged/destroyed houses and small farmers.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, while presiding over an Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Council meeting, gave approval of the decision.

The meeting was informed that the housing assessment had been completed, master plans for reconstruction of Muzaffarabad and Bagh finalized and those for Rawlakot and New Balakot were in final stages.

The meeting was told that 90 per cent of the affected people had received the second installment of the amount for reconstruction of houses and the special allocation of Rs30 billion had been made to facilitate early payment of housing subsidy in the remaining 34 union councils.

A total of Rs.60 billion had been disbursed on housing subsidy, compensation for the dead and injured and cash grant for the vulnerable under the Livelihood Programme, it was told. The prime minister directed the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority to prepare contingency plans for winter and ensure that people living in tents had facilities.

Erra officials gave a briefing on the implementation status of the reconstruction and rehabilitation work. They said that all education and healthcare facilities had been made functional through interim structures.

As many as 1574 education facilities would be reconstructed in 2006-07. In the healthcare sector, reconstruction of 156, out of 382 facilities, would be undertaken in 2006, they said.

The Erra officials said that a comprehensive livelihood rehabilitation strategy had been finalized and it would cost Rs.16.92 billion.

Under the Cash Grants Programme for vulnerable households launched since April 2006, 216,571 beneficiaries had been enrolled and paid Rs.2.8 billion so far, they said. An interim Rs5.74 billion Erra-UN livelihood support programme covering 26 projects had been launched, they added.

The meeting was attended by Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Atique Ahmad, NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Maj (retd) Tahir Iqbal, Minister for Political Affairs Amir Muqman, the Erra chairman and others.

MEETING WITH DURRANI: Prices of essential commodities of daily use — particularly wheat, sugar and pulses — had started to stabilize due to government intervention through special Ramadan package and price control measures, claimed the premier while talking to Mr Durrani who called on him at the prime minister house on Friday.