ISLAMABAD, April 5: The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has said it was working in close cooperation with the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) to ensure that quality material was used in the houses being built in the earthquake-devastated areas.

Objecting to some parts of a news item captioned “Tremor-proof building rules being flouted” published in Dawn on Wednesday, it said in a statement that the story was wrongly attributed to the organisation.

It also described as incorrect the attribution to PPFA of the news that substandard material was being used in rebuilding houses in the earthquake-hit areas despite government claims that houses were being built to withstand severe tremors.

The PPAF, however, said in AJK and NWFP substandard six-inch thick and wide blocks were commonly available and used excessively by house owners for construction, whereas in the construction guidelines, Erra has stipulated specification of the blocks as 12 inch in length, eight inch in width and 67 inch in height.