KARACHI, Sept 10: Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar has said that no compensation has yet been paid to the legal heirs of those who died or affected during the recent rains/floods in Thatta district.

In his written reply, read out on his behalf in the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday, the chief minister said that the compensation would be paid to in due course of time after verification and scrutiny of cases as reported by the district government of Thatta.

The CM said that 38 people reportedly died and 163,650 had been affected in the rains and floods in the districts.

The question was put up by Mrs Humaira Alwani during the question hour.

Mr Mahar said the district government had constituted committees on taluka level to carry out survey of damage to crops. He, however, made it clear that no compensation would be paid to those whose standing crops were destroyed in rains as the government would extend them remission as per the land revenue rules after receipt of ‘Kharaba’ statement.

According to the figures provided to the House, 5,000 people in Jati Taluka, 500 in Shahbunder, 4,301 in Sujawal, 2,560 in Thatta, 3,474 in Ghorabari, 1,669 in Mirpur Bathoro, 2,560 in Mirpur Sakro, 2,229 in Keti Bundar and 1,085 in Kharochhan were affected due to the rains and floods.

As per the government’s policy, Rs100,000 would be paid for every death of a bread-earner, Rs30,000 for the death of non-bread-earner, Rs10,000 for a collapsed pucca house, Rs5,000 for a collapsed kutcha house, Rs5,000 for repair of a damaged pucca house, Rs3,000 for a damaged kutcha house and Rs2,000 for a loss of cattle milch animal offspring.

Replying to a question by the same member, Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed said that the provincial government had received a Rs100 million, 50 million each from President and Prime Minister, for relief work in the rain and flood affected areas of Sindh.

Revenue Minister Altaf Unnar, who also holds the portfolio of Relief, could not answer the question, but Mr Ahmed stood up and responded to the MPA’s query through a statement under Rule 215.

Syed Sardar Ahmed said the funds received from the Centre had been placed at the disposal of the provincial government and were being distributed through the district relief committees on the basis of ad-hoc survey reports.

When asked about any deadline for the disbursement of compensation, the minister pointed out that a final report of the survey of affected areas would be submitted by September 14 after which process of the payment would begin.

Replying to a question by Ghulam Mujaddid Isran, the revenue minister reading out the answer on behalf of the chief minister, said that it is was not correct that almost every village of Taluka Qambar in Larkana district had been damaged. However, he added, some villages had suffered damage due to the heavy rains, He said that a number of houses had been damaged in the affected villages for which a physical survey on village-to-village basis was being conducted by various teams. A survey of damage to crop is also under way, he added.

As a matter of fact, he clarified, most of the villages located between Khirthar Hills and the F. P. Bund in Taluka Qambar had been affected by hill torrents.—PPI/APP