LAHORE: Punjab Finance Minister Sardar Mohsin Laghari has said that after the initial estimate, the Punjab government will immediately need more than Rs26 billion to compensate for the losses of the people affected by the recent floods.

“It will be possible with the reduction of development expenses and the funds received from the federation from the federal divisible pool,” he said during a meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative Esther Perez Ruiz on Tuesday.

He further said that this year’s flood in the province was unexpected and completely different from the past. “The province witnessed flash floods due to sudden rains instead of floods due to increasing water level and flows in rivers.” He also said that the rains recorded more than 85 percent this year from the past monsoon seasons, resulting in heavy flash floods and adversely affecting the Punjab districts (Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur).

According to him, 366 villages and 80 union councils were affected in Dera Ghazi Khan, while in Rajanpur, 176 villages and 44 union councils were affected. Overall 191 human casualties occurred and 3,858 people were injured while 17,953 houses were destroyed in Dera Ghazi Khan and 34,160 houses were destroyed in Rajanpur. In these districts education, health, agriculture, road infrastructure and civic facilities were badly affected. Agriculture and livestock are the major sources of livelihood for the people in flood-affected districts. In both districts, more than 90 percent of the agricultural land was flooded and unemployment increased due to the death of 205,106 cattle.

“According to the preliminary estimate, more than Rs121.633 billion will be required for the repair and rehabilitation of damaged and affected infrastructure in various sectors of the only two districts of Punjab,” he added.

The Minister further told the IMF representative that the Punjab government will need at least two to three years to restore the infrastructure and other damages in the province. Esther Ruiz regretted the large-scale destruction in the province due to the flood and assured the review of programmes and full cooperation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022