HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Mohammad Sohail Rajput admitted before Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit bench on Wednesday that the provincial government’s response to the disaster (of heavy rain and floods) was not adequate.

The secretary said while briefing the division bench comprising Justices Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Mohammad Saleem Jessar in identical petitions about floods that 10pc areas were now under water and the rest had been cleared. 

He said that the devastation caused by recent floods had surpassed the scale of the disaster wreaked by super floods that hit Sindh in 2010. The Sindh government was endeavouring to compensate people for losses in crops and damage to mud-thatched houses for which reputable NGOs had been engaged as implementing partners to reach out to beneficiaries without third party’s involvement, he said.

“Sir, the devastations were of catastrophic proportions and the disaster’s magnitude was massive. Let me candidly admit our response to the disaster wasn’t adequate,” he remarked.

The CS, who had appeared in response to a court order dated Nov 11 directing him appear personally, said that Sindh received extraordinary amount of rainfall -- 1768mm in Padian alone where average rainfall was 87mm.

He recalled the super flood had inundated 1.3m acres land after Torhi dyke breach on the right bank which released a quantum of 4.9MAF water. The scale of devastation almost doubled with 2.2m acres under water on the right bank and the volume of water 14 MAF this year, he said.

“Floodwaters on right bank have to reach Manchhar Lake through Main Nara Valley Drain (MNVD) that has a capacity of 3,500 cusecs and then flows go to river,” he said. About the inundation of Dadu, Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah, the CS said that experts said that four weeks were needed to dewater the flooded areas and different submerged pockets in Jacobabad and Qambar-Shahdadkot.

He said that Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah and Badin had been cleared of water as they were connected with Left Bank Outfall Drain but Kot Diji, Thari Mirwah etc were still affected where two weeks were needed for dewatering.

“We understand people are in distress and we are struggling to lessen their miseries,” he said and disclosed the government had got a door to door survey done in collaboration with armed forces, which revealed 2.2 mud-thatched houses were damaged while UNICEF’s 2019 figures put the houses’ figure in Sindh at 3 million.

He said the government had established a company with independent board of directors and engaged some reputable NGOs as implementing partners to pay Rs300,000 to each household through installments after verification. The housing losses were assessed at $1.5bn of which $500m were being provided by World Bank and $250m were being shared by Sindh and federal governments.

He said that the government was supporting farmers for wheat cultivation in Rabi and fixed impressive wheat support price to benefit locals instead of importing the grain from Ukraine or Russia.

Wheat had been sown on 2m acres till now when compared with 2.1m acres sowing in corresponding period in 2021, he said.

He disclosed the government was paying Rs8.5bn with federal share of Rs4.5bn to compensate for agriculture sector’s losses which would be disbursed under Benazir Income Support Programme.The petitioner lawyers Mumtaz Lashari, Altaf Sachal Awan, Aijaz Awan and Ishrat Lohar disputed the government’s claims about dewatering. Lohar presented pictures showing flooded areas in Sanghar district. Justice Kalhoro said that people wanted results and the government should not be unmindful of climate change phenomenon for which a plan must be put in place.

He adjourned the matter for a month with directives to submit fresh reports along with photographs.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2022