NWFP Governor Lieutenant General Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai (Retd) has underlined the need for close interaction and co-ordination between all agencies and departments engaged in rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the earthquake-affected areas both at the provincial and the federal levels. He reiterated the need for joint and concerted efforts for redress of the problems of survivors.
The governor was presiding over a meeting, to identify and discuss the problems and grievances of the people of quake-hit areas here at Governor's House on Thursday.
Officials of Erra, Perra, Nespak, District and Tehsil Nazims and DCOs of the affected districts besides the secretary to the governor and Hazara University vice-chancellor attended the meeting.
The NWFP Perra acting director-general, through a presentation, highlighted the latest state of rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the quake-hit areas, saying the reconstruction work had picked up despite delays owing to procedural requirements.
Representatives of the people of earthquake-affected areas were unanimous in their assertion that the pace of reconstruction work was very slow and needed to be accelerated. They particularly raised the issue of delay in reconstructing the damaged structures of hundreds of schools and healthcare facilities gave suggestions to improve the situation.
Analysing and concluding the discussion the governor observed that lack of co-ordination between various agencies was one reason for misunderstandings and urged them to find a mechanism in order to increase co-ordination. He said there should be a focal person or a committee, which should oversee the affairs and suggested that public representatives and officials of Erra, Perra and Nespak must meet at least once a month to co-ordinate the reconstruction activities.
The meeting unanimously agreed to the suggestion that initially the Nazims and representatives of NGOs should identify and enlist the problems supported by relevant statistics, which the DCOs should submit along with heir own comments to Erra, Perra and Nespak and finally prepare sound recommendations for submission to the federal government.
The governor made it binding on both the sides to hold a co-ordination meeting in the first week of every month to review the rehabilitation and reconstruction work. Aurakzai said the rehabilitation and reconstruction work had been widely acclaimed and appreciated by the international community, which had been terming it a role model in disaster management. There were, however, problems on part of the executing agencies that were causing dissatisfaction and discontentment among the affected people.