October issue 2006

The morning of October 8, 2005, will forever be remembered as the morning that brought death and destruction to six districts of the NWFP, Islamabad, as well as the Pakistan and Indian — administered Kashmir. The death toll reached 80,000 with many more homeless and maimed. While aid poured in for the victims, the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) was formed by the government to oversee the relief and rehabilitation efforts.

The victims were promised compensation and aid to rebuild their houses. For those whose houses were completely destroyed by the earthquake, ERRA promised that they would be given an initial installment of 25,000 rupees. Then, after ERRA or its contracted non-governmental organisations had conducted a damage assessment survey, 75,000 rupees was to be allotted for the initial purchase of building materials. After that, when the foundation of the house was laid, another 25,000 rupees was to be given. The last instalment of 50,000 rupees was designated for the construction of the walls and roof. Thus, a total of 175,000 rupees was promised to families whose homes were completely destroyed. The only conditions for the release of the instalments were that the construction of the house follow strict instructions and guidelines set out by ERRA, and that ERRA teams would examine the site at each and every step to ensure that instructions were being followed.

For those whose houses were partially destroyed, the allotment was 75,000 rupees, with 25,000 rupees as an initial instalment and the remaining 50,000 given after ERRA officials verified that reconstruction had been done according to ERRA guidelines.

A year later, according to ERRA’s Chairman, Mr. Altaf Saleem, 48 billion rupees in compensation has been distributed to the victims and “Ninety-five per cent of the displaced survivors have been given shelters.”

The victims, however, beg to differ. Those hailing from Azad Jammu and Kashmir have been the most vocal in their protests. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with the whole process of compensation and re-construction. Hundreds of people marched barefoot in one demonstration through Muzaffarabad in September, to protest against the slow pace of compensation efforts by the government and the aid agencies.

The victims maintain that very little compensation has been given by ERRA. Some also complain that ERRA’s strict plans for rebuilding houses have been changed twice with the result that often ERRA officials declare that a house constructed according to the first plan has to be pulled down and reconstructed. According to Zubaid Hussain of Bagh District, “With winter approaching, we do not have the luxury of building and then pulling down houses. In the absence of any compensation by ERRA, I have taken building materials on loan. Now ERRA wants me to reconstruct because the building plan has been revised. They should make up their minds.”

The whole process of compensation starts with a damage assessment survey conducted by ERRA and its contracting partners, like the National Rural Support Programme and Islamic Relief. There have been complaints about the pace of the assessments, as well as the attitude of the survey staff. Javed Hussain Shah, a resident of District Bagh, works in Islamabad, but on hearing that the survey team was visiting his village, he took leave to go home. “I saw the team arriving, but they went to the other end of the village. I thought that perhaps by mid-day they’d reach me. However, at noon they left without coming to our side of the village. We had been told that the survey team is supposed to work till five, but at noon they packed up. When we, the residents of about 12 houses, ran after their vehicle telling them that they had not surveyed our houses, they said that the village had been done and our houses would be done later. I contacted the DC Bagh office and the survey team offices, but was told I had to wait. When I told them that we had taken leave from work when the dates of our village survey were announced, they were extremely rude and uncooperative,” says Javed Hussain. “This is the crux of the matter. It is not their problem. The problem of reconstruction is ours and we have been left to deal with it.”

Another complaint that has affected residents up in arms, is the inconsiderate attitude of the survey staff. Sadiq Ahmed lost his wife and two daughters when his house collapsed. When the survey team finally arrived, they asked him how could they be sure that his house had collapsed as there was no sign of the rubble. “When they visited me after eight months, did they expect me to be living amidst the rubble which has the remains of my wife and two daughters?” In disgust he asked the survey team to leave. “I don’t want any compensation,” he says. Reservations over the attitude of the survey staff have also been echoed by others including a senior leader of the People’s Muslim League, Khwaja Farooq Ahmed, who declared: “The victims are already under severe economic and psychological stress. The survey team’s attitude adds insult to injury.”

The local press is full of reports of people protesting against the slow pace of surveys and compensation. For instance, the survey of Bagh is still not complete after one year. In the town of Ber Pani, out of 6,000 families, only 625 families have been surveyed so far and had their compensations approved. However, even they have not received any money, according to the town president, Sardar Mian Beg. The president of the Traders Association, Bagh, Sardar Khan Saleem Khan, says , “The survey has not been completed. What compensation is ERRA talking about? Government authorities said that on October 18, President Musharraf would inaugurate the reconstruction of Muzaffarabad. But all this talk of reconstruction in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and other areas is nothing but show.”

Meanwhile, residents of Bagh whose houses have been surveyed, have not received compensation. In a letter dated August 25, 2006, Mr. Nasir Hussain Shah, President Smile Welfare Foundation, a local non-governmental organisation, wrote to the Chairman ERRA, stating that in District Bagh the houses were surveyed on May 31, 2006, and compensation instalments were promised within a week. However nothing has been paid. Since no construction work can be undertaken during the harsh winter, the more than 40 families mentioned in the letter, will also brave this winter in tents and sheds. And they will certainly not be the only ones. According to the United Nations, around 33,000 quake-affected people are still living in camps while another 20,000 to 30,000 are expected to join the camps in the coming winter.

Similar problems are being faced by quake victims in the North West Frontier Province. Accusing ERRA, the Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (PERRA), and other agencies of mismanagement, the people of the five worst hit districts of NWFP said that not a single building or house has been reconstructed since the October 8 earthquake.

“The situation in the affected districts is even worse. With another severe winter ahead, people are still living under the open sky. The president of the United Welfare Foundation, Battagram, Ihsanullah, alleged that local authorities were misleading senior officials that the affected are going back to their homes. “This is a total distortion of facts. When no homes have been constructed, how can the people return to their areas?”

Qazi Wasi, Nazim Union Council, Shinkiari, also condemned the ERRA construction designs, saying, “The designs were not acceptable to any of the structural engineers working in the area. Secondly, when people want to construct homes on their own, the ERRA authorities refuse to pay them compensation on the technicality that the houses will not be constructed as per their sanctioned design.”

There are complaints over the house designs as well, particularly in Kashmir. According to building plans provided by ERRA, people are required to use iron beams in the roofs. However, people say that using iron beams would significantly raise the cost of construction. “If we use the government plans, just the roof would cost us between 50 to 60 thousand rupees,” says a resident. “The entire cost of constructing a house would jump to five lakhs, which is much more than the government compensation.”

Residents have appealed that they be allowed to use timber in the reconstruction. And according to some reports, ERRA is actually likely to permit the use of timber in earthquake-affected areas. However, there are fears that this will further escalate deforestation in the area. Further, if timber is allowed, then there are fears that ERRA will consider slashing the compensation package. Clearly this is a major cause of concern for the victims who maintain that the compensation amount is inadequate anyway.

As if the earthquake was not bad enough, people faced yet another natural calamity during the monsoons: landslides. The Chief Secretary, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Kashif Murtaza, said, “There are 10,000 to 11,000 landless families who have been affected and the government is trying to find them land to resettle. We are working on land identification. We do not have any government land, only private land, and we need to purchase it first.” The government has announced each landless family will be allotted a quarter of a hectare in a “safe area,” which is quake, flood and landslide free. The chief secretary, when reminded of the fact that many survivors are still living in camps, declared, “We have initiated the process of acquiring land, which will be finalised this year. We hope that we can resettle people at least before the summer of 2007.”

According to a UN assessment, “Pakistan will need at least 10 years to fully recover from the damage wrought by the earthquake.” One year down the line, the quake victims are still surviving on empty promises.