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KARACHI, Jan 10: Bureaucratic hurdles and red tape may cause a delay in disbursement of Rs100,000 each as compensation to the heirs of 40 victims of the North Karachi fire.The compensation was announced by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah when he had visited the site of the fire. However, the survivors were not given the cash soon after the announcement as it requires the completion of legal formalities through an otherwise cumbersome procedure involving different departments of the government.
In some previous cases, the legal heirs of terror victims waited for about two years to get the compensation announced by the government.
The likely delay would also compound the miseries of the survivors, who have been provided temporary shelter in a government school in North Karachi.
However, Karachi District Coordination Officer Javed Hanif believed that the process to give compensation would be completed shortly and the heirs of the fire victims would get the promised compensation in about a week.
He said that the deputy district officer (revenue) concerned and police were directed to submit a detailed report containing the names of all the fire victims and their legal heirs. “We will get the detailed report within two days,” he said, adding that the district administration would send the report to the office of the relief commissioner for assessment and after the competent authority’s formal approval, the provincial finance department would release the compensation amount.
After this procedure, the legal heirs could get the compensation cheque.
The DCO said that the government gives compensation only to the legal heirs of the deceased persons and for this purpose it has to conduct a thorough exercise to verify all claims. “In case of death of the wife, the husband will be given the compensation and not the father. And if the husband and wife both died, the compensation will be given in the name of their children. If they are underage (it will go) to their next of kin as their guardian,” he explained.
However, insiders pointed out that due to bureaucratic hurdles and red tape, the process to give compensation was time-consuming.
“Even a minor objection to the compensation case can delay the whole process for months, leaving no option for the heirs but to run from pillar to post to get the compensation,” said a source.
Yet when it comes to their own interest, the competent authorities instantly give compensation or financial aid from their discretionary funds.
The sources said that similar to the discretionary funds, there should be an emergency relief fund to help the victims and survivors of any tragedy on an immediate basis.
Rehabilitation
Even though the chief minister also promised the survivors that they would be given shelter at an alternative place near Port Qasim, the timeframe, with regard to the fulfilment of the promise, is not clear.
The district administration has provided shelter to the surviving families at Maulvi Tameezuddin High School in New Karachi.
“The surviving families have been given shelter in a government school and they can stay there for one more week,” said DCO Hanif. “We cannot close the school for a longer period. Usually in such cases the survivors prefer to stay at their relatives’ places. They will be given compensation in a week and they can solve at least their housing problem till the provision of shelters at Port Qasim.”
