The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has announced the Monsoon Contingency Plan, but it is still waiting for the release of funds of Rs5 billion. Like the federal government, the provinces have also not taken the recommendations of the NDMA seriously and have not allocated funds.

According to the Monsoon Contingency Plan released by the NDMA, there is a wide gap between the demand and stock and requirement of tents, blankets, mosquito net and ration packs in all provinces. These items are important to provide some relief to the victims during flood, but the federal and provincial governments have not taken any lesson from previous experiences.

According to the Monsoon Contingency Plan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa needs 37,110 tents, 32,649 blankets and 91,368 mosquito nets. Sindh needs 251,700 tents, 541,000 blankets and 543,000 mosquito nets. The situation is worst in Punjab as it does not have stock of tents and blankets and needs 124,383 tents, 260,000 blankets and 260,000 mosquito nets. The situation is the same in Balochistan as it needs 12,000 tents, 19,264 blankets and 30,000 mosquito nets.

Sources in the NDMA said that despite the approval of Rs5 billion funds, the finance wing is creating hurdles in the release of funds, whereas high officials are requesting the finance wing for the release of budget to avoid loss of life and provide relief to the victims during monsoon.

On the other hand, the NDMA has failed to convince the concerned authorities to introduce the Disaster Risk Insurance Policy in flood-prone areas. But the planning is still in papers and delayed for the next year. Through this policy, it was supposed to provide compensation for loss of livestock, business and life insurance of bread earner of the family.

When ‘The News’ contacted NDMA Chairman Dr. Zafar Iqbal Qadir, he confirmed that the funds are not released yet for the Monsoon Contingency Plan and the department is waiting for it despite its approval by the prime minister. “We are requesting the finance wing for release of the amount to ensure precautionary measures to cope with any kind of emergency situation during monsoon rains,” he added.

The NDMA chairman said that they have suggested to all provinces to make their full arrangements and allocate funds to deal with any emergency situation.

Talking about the Disaster Risk Insurance Policy, he said that they were working on it and would finalise it soon. The policy would be applicable from the next year, as time was needed to implement such kind of policy and make arrangements for it.