ISLAMABAD: The government has yet to finalise the merger of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) into the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Sources said that subsuming process of the ERRA into the NDMA has not yet been finalised due to legislative formalities and no necessary order has been issued regarding the merger of the ERRA into the NDMA.

The ERRA, in a letter to the Ministry of Planning with regard to the allocation of the PSDP funds for 2023-24, stated that the merger of the ERRA into the NDMA has yet to be completed.

Disaster management system in transformational phase: NDMA

The ERRA said that the allocation of funds to it for the current fiscal year has not yet been received from the Finance Division and the Ministry of Planning.

As a result, the liabilities of existing projects/schemes of the ERRA cannot be cleared. Resultantly, due to non-payment of bills, the contractors may opt for litigation as some contractors have filed court cases against the ERRA for non-payment of bill.

Additionally, it would be very difficult for the ERRA to meet the requirements of essential obligatory operational expenditure.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023