PESHAWAR: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has verified 49,857 of 85,065 displaced families of North Waziristan Agency, the record of which was sent to it by the Fata Disaster Management Authority.

This was stated by FDMA director general Abid Majeed at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Sunday. He said that the registration process was stopped on July 15 and till that time some 49,857 families of 85,065 had been verified by Nadra. However, he said that the total number of displaced families manually registered at various registration points was 92,702.

Of the verified families, record of 49,736 families had been sent to Zong while payment drawn by displaced families as reported by Zong was 15,031.

Mr Majeed said that the internally displaced persons (IDPs) had been registered in two phases at three points, including Saidgai checkpost FR Bannu, Peshawar and Kurram Agency. The cash grant disbursed through Zong (Pak-China Mobile) from July 8, 2014 to July 20 was Rs405.4 million.

IDPs missed to be compensated after verification

The FDMA DG claimed that the manual payment of cash assistance at three cash distribution points established at Bannu till July 6 stood at Rs358.24 million. He said that the number of total beneficiaries assisted at the rate of Rs12,000 each till the same date was 29,853. The total amount disbursed, he said, was Rs759.24 million. Giving further details about the displaced people, Mr Majeed said that of total IDPs verified by Nadra about 140,718 were men, 156,030 women, and 228,318 children.

He said that the variation between figures of data computerised by FDMA and sent to Nadra was due to weeding out of duplication or erroneous record at the FDMA level.

Zarb-i-Azb: DG FDMA suspended over inadequate facilities to IDPs

The FDMA chief said that total Rs1.2 billion had been transferred to Askari Bank Limited for release to Zong in lieu of payment of cash grant to the beneficiaries.

The data sent to Nadra, he said, was final and there was no backlog on the FDMA side. However, he said that the FDMA was ready to compensate the families missed in the process or those who had recently returned from Afghanistan. He said that a total of 144 families of minorities were also verified by Nadra.

He asked the people to contact the FDMA officials in case of any problem, saying that those having no computerised national identity cards could contact the relevant assistant political agent or tehsildar for verification. He said that some 9,000 families had not obtained the Zong SIM and they should come to get the same for cash assistance.

Published in Dawn, July 21st , 2014