PESHAWAR: The $22 million fund, donated by the European Union to facilitate return of internally displaced persons to parts of Federally Administered Tribal Areas from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is likely to remain unspent owing to delay in issuance of No Objection Certificates by the authorities to non-governmental organisations, according to sources.

They said that about 29 NGOs applied to get NoCs for working in Fata to facilitate the returning displaced people but there was no reply from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Both the NDMA and PDMA are authorised to allow NGOs to work in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively. The fund, supposed to provide relief to people, was likely to get lapsed, they added.

Last year, the EU had pledged the amount to help the displaced population after the end of military campaigns in parts of Fata. The EU had asked the NGOs to send their proposals for conducting relief and rehabilitation activities in areas of health, nutrition, livelihoods, education, water and sanitation etc but they have been waiting for the NOC for the past three months.

Sources said the NGOs had got local infrastructure and were ready to start work in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

NGOs await no objection certificate to start work in Fata, KP

PDMA Director Administration Mohammad Khalid told Dawn that they had received applications from different organisations which were being processed as per law.

“We have a review committee which technically evaluates the applications before allowing them to work. We have forwarded the same to the security agencies to seek clearance prior to giving go-ahead to the NGOs,” he said.

Mr Khalid said that a proper procedure was being followed. “We are specially looking at the security-related matters,” he added.

Sources said the amount would be spent through Central Emergency Relief Fund of the United Nations within six months but there was a long delay which could result in termination of the fund. “The NGOs, which are awaiting clearance, have conveyed to the authorities that the displaced people desperately need assistance at the time of their departure from the host districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for their native areas in Fata,” they added.

Sources said that the programme, covering five clusters of the United Nation, was planned to be implemented through local communities under the supervision of the authorities concerned.

“As a rule, the organisations should apply a month before the execution of any project in Fata or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but three months have been passed since they have applied with no prospects of getting green signal from the authorities concerned in the near future,” sources said.

The districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which are hosting the displaced persons, have been under tremendous pressure because of their inability to cater to their needs. “For example, Bannu district, which has been home to 300,000 displaced persons from the adjacent North Waziristan Agency, cannot offer health and other facilities to them for too long,” sources said.

Sources said that recently the government stopped activities of Merlin UK, an INGO, in Dera Ismail Khan which created health problems not only for displaced people but also for the local population.

“Local health authorities are unable to cope with the patients’ load at the local health facilities and have requested the provincial government for help,” they said.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2016