ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: The seventh meeting of the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Erra) decided on Friday to provide compensation of Rs75,000 to families of the people in rural and mountainous areas of the NWFP and AJK who had lost their land on which their houses were built.

The meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was informed that so far Rs170 billion had been spent on rehabilitation and reconstruction of earthquake-hit areas both in cash and kind by the government and non-government agencies.

Briefing newsmen Prime Minister Aziz said only 34,000 people were left in tents in the NWFP and AJK and not a single quake affectee had died of epidemic, cold or lack of food while all educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, offices and roads were fully operational in temporary and make-shift premises, he asserted.

Mr Aziz told a questioner that negotiations on the Margalla Towers compensation was in final stages with stake holders and the matter would hopefully be resolved soon. He denied reports of the location of Islamabad on the fault line.

Asked whether the government had any plan to rehabilitate those businessmen whose businesses were destroyed by the earthquake, the prime minister said so far the government has decided to give relief to debtors of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank and the House Building Finance Corporation in their loans write off.

Prime Minister Aziz who was flanked by AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Tahir Iqbal and Erra Chairman Altaf Salim, said work on the construction of new Balakot at Bakrayal will be accelerated as the Erra on Friday decided to acquire 10,000 kanal private lands from the President’s earthquake relief fund.

The Erra chairman told a questioner that earthquake affectees will keep possession of their lands even after shifting to new towns and would be able to use them for agriculture purposes.

The prime minister said that China had announced to provide $300 million for reconstruction of Muzaffarabad and Japan has completed its survey for relocation and reconstruction.

The authority also decided to provide Rs7.8 billion to far-flung areas of Kohistan and Shangla districts where infrastructure was destroyed due to the quake.

An additional amount of Rs800 million has been provided by the prime minister for payment of compensations in AJK.

The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Programme (PPAF) has been released Rs3 billion for distribution among the affectees of 34 union councils, Mr Aziz said.