Rehabilitation of flood-hit areas: Sindh against Nadra's registration process

The Sindh government is against the method of registering the flood affected people by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in the province as at least 50 percent population of these areas does not have the Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs), it is learnt.
The federal government had recently instructed the Nadra to register the flood-affected people so that proper measures could be taken for their rehabilitation and financial aid also be disbursed to the genuine people. However, the Punjab and Sindh provinces had strongly opposed the move of the centre and demanded that the flood aid be distributed by the respective provincial and district authorities, well-placed sources told Business Recorder on Thursday.
According to the sources, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had held a meeting with chief ministers of all the four provinces regarding relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affected areas on August 26, 2010. It was decided that Nadra would register the affected people and then the affected people would be provided with financial assistance, they said.
The Nadra has made the 'CNIC' as the basic part of the registration process however 50 percent people of the affected 18 districts had to be provided with the new identity cards, they said, adding that Revenue Department had also forwarded a letter to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) informing about reservations by the Sindh government.
Sources further said that it was not an easy task to provide CNICs to the people of flood hit areas as the gushing floodwaters had washed away everything including their houses. Moreover, the Sindh government has proposed that the distribution of financial aid should be made after the verifications by the Deputy District Officers (DDOs) of the Revenue Department and the supervisors of the relief camps established by the government. Sources said that President Zardari had called a meeting of the Nadra and Sindh government officials to discuss the matter in detail so that the reservations could be removed.