In order to implement the rehabilitation plan for the flood-affected people, Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday engaged the country's top economists, key development stakeholders and donors before sending a comprehensive rehabilitation plan to the Prime Minister for the approval.
The basic objective is to get your input for the implementation of a short and long-term rehabilitation plan for the flood-affected people, said the minister, while addressing the roundtable conference held on Monday.
The government is committed to protect the affected people despite the fact that the scale of the disaster is huge, said the minister, while urging the experts to share their ideas so rehabilitation plan could be implemented immediately.
The roundtable was attended by the Additional Secretary PD&SI, Chief Economist, all members of the planning commission, economists and donors. The Chief Economist in his briefing informed the participants that around $ 3 billion was the losses of the flood which badly affected the country’s agriculture and infrastructure sector. He said that various ministries have been sharing damage assessment reports which will help in the rehabilitation plan and losses will be increased in the future.
Speaking at the occasion, the minister said that the recent flood has not only claimed lives , but also affected infrastructure and livelihood at a mega scale. He said that the government has taken a number of initiatives as federal and provincial governments have been doing rescue operations since the flood came into the surface.
The immediate challenge is the early recovery of the flood-affected people as the agriculture sector has been affected badly which will have a negative impact on our economy which needs to be addressed immediately, said the minister while appreciating the ideas shared by the various development stakeholders.
The sectors which have a potential should be given a top priority especially in the most affected districts of the country, he added,while stressing the action oriented plan to rebuild, restructure the affected areas of the country in which short and long-term plans will be executed between six- months to 10-year.
Dr. Adnan Rafiq, Member Governance, Planning Commission suggested that the owner driven reconstruction approach should be adopted with effective mechanisms to ensure compliance with the building codes developed by the government. He also argued that vulnerable groups should be prioritised in the rehabilitation process which includes women and youth.
Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, heading Pakistan's premier policy research think-tank, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) suggested the government to start the rehabilitation process at the district level which he believed is a more effective way to start the rehabilitation process. The participant also suggested focusing on Sindh’s land which remained an agriculture basket and positive results could be taken through this sector.
Aqdas Afzal, Program Director at Habib University emphasised the importance of Benazir Income Support Programme BISP which is effective for the flood-affected people and suggested the government to link it with the index. The minister appreciated the ideas and assured the participants to incorporate their ideas with the rehabilitation plan before sending it to the Prime Minister.
The basic objective is to get your input for the implementation of a short and long-term rehabilitation plan for the flood-affected people, said the minister, while addressing the roundtable conference held on Monday.
The government is committed to protect the affected people despite the fact that the scale of the disaster is huge, said the minister, while urging the experts to share their ideas so rehabilitation plan could be implemented immediately.
The roundtable was attended by the Additional Secretary PD&SI, Chief Economist, all members of the planning commission, economists and donors. The Chief Economist in his briefing informed the participants that around $ 3 billion was the losses of the flood which badly affected the country’s agriculture and infrastructure sector. He said that various ministries have been sharing damage assessment reports which will help in the rehabilitation plan and losses will be increased in the future.
Speaking at the occasion, the minister said that the recent flood has not only claimed lives , but also affected infrastructure and livelihood at a mega scale. He said that the government has taken a number of initiatives as federal and provincial governments have been doing rescue operations since the flood came into the surface.
The immediate challenge is the early recovery of the flood-affected people as the agriculture sector has been affected badly which will have a negative impact on our economy which needs to be addressed immediately, said the minister while appreciating the ideas shared by the various development stakeholders.
The sectors which have a potential should be given a top priority especially in the most affected districts of the country, he added,while stressing the action oriented plan to rebuild, restructure the affected areas of the country in which short and long-term plans will be executed between six- months to 10-year.
Dr. Adnan Rafiq, Member Governance, Planning Commission suggested that the owner driven reconstruction approach should be adopted with effective mechanisms to ensure compliance with the building codes developed by the government. He also argued that vulnerable groups should be prioritised in the rehabilitation process which includes women and youth.
Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, heading Pakistan's premier policy research think-tank, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) suggested the government to start the rehabilitation process at the district level which he believed is a more effective way to start the rehabilitation process. The participant also suggested focusing on Sindh’s land which remained an agriculture basket and positive results could be taken through this sector.
Aqdas Afzal, Program Director at Habib University emphasised the importance of Benazir Income Support Programme BISP which is effective for the flood-affected people and suggested the government to link it with the index. The minister appreciated the ideas and assured the participants to incorporate their ideas with the rehabilitation plan before sending it to the Prime Minister.