KP demands Rs15bn from centre for rebuilding quake-hit schools

Published March 31, 2016
Mushtaq Ghani addressing media persons in Peshawar on Wednesday. — Online
Mushtaq Ghani addressing media persons in Peshawar on Wednesday. — Online

PESHAWAR: Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, said on Wednesday that the federal government should have conducted an inquiry into the demolition of 900 quake-hit government schools in Hazara division that could have been repaired. He claimed that these schools had suffered a minor damage in Oct 2005 earthquake and were in usable condition, but demolished to auction the debris.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, he said that the federal government should immediately release Rs15 billion for reconstruction of the schools destroyed in the earthquake.

Answering a question about who demolished the schools having received minor damage, the spokesman said that authorities at the helm of affairs at that time were responsible for the unnecessary demolition of the government schools.


Claims 900 schools with minor damage demolished to auction debris


The press conference was also attended by Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Mohammad Atif and senior officials of the education department.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Atif said that the federal government had conducted a survey after the 2005 earthquake and identified 2,909 extensively damaged government schools that were to be reconstructed by it.

The 900 government schools were demolished after the survey, he said, adding that these schools were not included in the 2,909 fully damaged schools. Of the 900 schools, around 150 were reconstructed by different NGOs while the provincial government had taken responsibility for the reconstruction of 750 schools.

The education minister said that Rs8 billion had been allocated in ADP for the fiscal year 2014-15 for the reconstruction of 750 schools.

He said that the federal government had taken responsibility for the reconstruction of 2,909 schools. For reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure, the government had established the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority and Provincial Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.

Of the 2,909 fully damaged schools, 1,275 couldn’t be rebuilt by the federal government despite the lapse of 11 years, he said. In the absence of proper buildings, he said, millions of students were compelled to get education in an atmosphere not conducive for the purpose. The estimated cost of the remaining schools was Rs15 billion, the education minister said. He demanded of the federal government to immediately release the required fund to the Erra to launch reconstruction of the schools. “If the federal government could spend billions of rupees on the Metro Bus and Orange Train why not on the reconstruction of schools in Hazara division,” he asked.

He said that Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif had promised with the people of Hazara division during an election rally that he would soon release Rs8 billion for reconstruction of the schools. The education minister also shared a video clip of the prime minister’s speech in which he had made that promise.

If the federal government failed to release the fund, the education minister warned to stage a sit-in along with millions of students and their parents in Islamabad.

Mr Ghani said that different countries had donated billions of rupees fund for reconstruction of the schools. “No one knows where the fund was utilised as the schools have not been rebuilt yet,” he said.

The spokesman for the provincial government demanded of the prime minister to order an inquiry into the funds donated by different countries for the reconstruction of the quake-hit schools.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2016

Editorial

Shocking ambush
Updated 13 Mar, 2025

Shocking ambush

The sophistication of attack indicates that separatists likely had support from experienced external players.
Suffocating crisis
13 Mar, 2025

Suffocating crisis

THREE of the five countries with the most polluted air on Earth are in South Asia. They include Pakistan, which has...
Captive grid
13 Mar, 2025

Captive grid

IT is a common practice: the government makes commitments with global lenders for their money and then tries to...
State Bank’s caution
Updated 12 Mar, 2025

State Bank’s caution

Easing monetary policy will be difficult for SBP without large, sustainable foreign capital inflows and structural tax reforms.
Syria massacre
12 Mar, 2025

Syria massacre

THERE were valid fears of sectarian and religious bloodshed when anti-Assad militants triumphantly marched into...
Too little, too late
12 Mar, 2025

Too little, too late

WHEN desperation reaches a point that a father has to end his life to save his daughter’s, the state has failed ...