ISLAMABAD, Sept 20: The disbursement of compensation to all the people affected by the last year’s devastating earthquake will be completed before the first anniversary of the catastrophe next month.

Speaking at the launch of Restoration of Earthquake Affected Communities and Households Project (Reach) of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) Deputy Chairman Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed said approximately 600,000 damaged houses had been assessed and disbursement made to 40,000 affected people.

He, however, said the process needed to be expedited in order to protect people in the affected areas from the upcoming harsh winter.

PPAF has launched Reach with funding of Rs1.6 billion from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD).

Out of some 300,000 people who were living in the camps in March, majority have left these temporary abodes for permanent homes and shelters. “Right now there are not more than 35,000 people under the canvas,” he added.

It complements existing $100 million funding from the World Bank, dedicated to earthquake affected areas with a purpose to rebuild livelihoods and reduce vulnerability in the affected areas of AJK and NWFP.

Gen Nadeem said the construction of houses, which would cost around $2 billion, was witnessing tremendous activity as construction material had started to flow more freely to quake affected areas after subsiding of monsoon.

He said between 18 to 20 per cent people who lost their homes, were involved in the construction of their houses. He stressed the need for more people to come forward for reconstruction.

He said the people needed to be motivated to build their own homes to undertake the issue of housing.

The Erra deputy chairman said all the health and education facilities in the earthquake hit areas had been fully rehabilitated and all the schools and hospitals destroyed by the last year’s devastating earthquake in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and NWFP were functional now.

He said these schools and hospitals today were better off than they were before October 8 earthquake.”Although some of them may be under the canvas but they have the best facilities available,” Lt-Gen Nadeem said.

The deputy chairman said that a state-of-the-art hospital in Garhi Habibullah would be built with all the facilities available in a world class hospital. Similarly, he added, the schools which were destroyed by the earthquake had all the modern facilities but stressed that “the dream will remain half-baked” if they do not get good teachers.

Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed stressed the need for coordination among the various donor agencies, NGOs, local government and different UN bodies to effectively carry out the task of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

He said Erra and PPAF’s livelihood programme had been ranked highly satisfactory by the World Bank.

Acting Chief Executive of PPAF Ahmed Jamal said the scope of Reach was 100 small, more remote, worst affected villages and target beneficiaries would be poor and most vulnerable households. Priority will be given to women headed households.

He said the project aimed at restoring and reconstructing 7,000 housing units along with rehabilitation and construction of small scale infrastructure schemes like drinking water supply, irrigation, link roads, bridges and structures.

It will also aim at restoration and replacement of household livestock lost in the earthquake.

“We need to make sure that the communities do not spend another winter out in the open,” he remarked.