Thursday, January 7, 2010

Sindh govt notifies formation of relief body












KARACHI: After a gap of two days, the Sindh government on Tuesday notified the formation of ‘Karachi Affected Markets Relief Committee’ to assess the losses of the traders whose shops and warehouses were gutted in violence on Ashura day. 
 
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin had announced the setting up of the committee during a meeting at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday.


According to terms and reference, the committee shall include business leaders, representatives, notables, victims of the concerned markets, specific area, as essentially co-opted members where the compensation is being verified, assessed, approved and disbursed.

The committee will hold meetings with representatives of the affected traders to finalise modus operandi for the assessment of losses/damages and disbursement of the compensation. It will prepare and verify the list of the victim traders and to oversee the survey for evaluation of the damages and claims and verify them.

The committee will assess and approve the amount of compensation to be paid in terms of losses on account of damage to the trading stuff/material and also assess/approve compensation for carrying out reconstruction/repair of shops or the category of loss as the committee may deem fit.

The committee will make compensation payment through cross-cheques and for the purpose a bank account in the name of ‘Karachi Affected Markets Relief Fund’ would be opened in National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

The camp committee already established comprising representatives of CDGK, KBCA, Saddar Town Administration, KESC, KWSB, SSGC, etc., will extend all-out assistance to the committee in achieving its objectives.

On mode of execution, the committee may meet as and when required and finalise its findings. Payment of compensation assessed and recommended by the committee will be made within one week of final recommendation.
The committee may seek help of professional evaluators, surveyors and assessors and any other body/person or association in determining the actual value of the losses.

Mohammad Zubair Motiwala is the chairman of the committee while Secretary Finance Sindh, DCO, President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Abdul Majid Haji Mohammad, A.Q. Khalil, Ahmed Chinoy and nominee of Federal Finance Ministry are the members.

Signatories of the bank account would be Zubair Motiwalla, DCO, CDGK and nominee of the ministry of finance. All related funds would be deposited in the above mentioned account. The office of the committee shall be housed at the KCCI.

The chairman of the committee may co-opt any member from the private or public sector to arrive at the just conclusion/finding.

Meanwhile, KCCI president Abdul Majid Haji Mohammad said that the chamber had received 705 survey forms from the traders of various markets.

He said the KCCI was planning to provide some specific amount to the traders immediately so that they could run not only their household expenditure but also give some money to jobless workers to clear their children school fees and pay utility bills.

The KCCI chief said two options were under study.

“One is the amount to be provided to the shopkeepers will be cut from the final payment of compensation and in another option; and the chamber could take the amount from traders on instalment basis,” he explained.

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