ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday fixed June 30 as deadline for initiation of all the projects, which could not be started due to non-availability of land.Chairing the 12th ERRA Council meeting at the Prime Minister House, Gilani directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the AJK governments to ensure that the requisite land should be provided for the projects till June 30 else these projects (18 in Pakhtunkhwa and nine in AJK) would be dropped and deleted from the reconstruction strategy. The Prime Minister further asked the two governments to take responsibility of the completed projects and ensure their sustainability, particularly, in health and education sectors. The recurring expenditures of the completed projects, he said, would be borne by the respective governments. He also directed them to complete the requisite formalities and settle the issues for the completion of projects in the urban areas. He particularly referred to New Balakot, Bakrial and Muzafarabad in this context and directed that all efforts in this regard should be made on war footings and accordingly Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) kept updated with progress so that these projects could be completed at the earliest. Lauding the role of ERRA, the Prime Minister said the Government from the very first day was committed to the renewal of livelihood and re-establishment of infrastructure in the earthquake affected areas. The progress made in the two-year period is remarkable, which shows the focused nature of the Governments resolve, he added. The Prime Minister noted with satisfaction that master plans of all cities had been finalised and approved by the ECNEC. He also expressed satisfaction over the completion of 50 percent work on New Balakot City Development Project Phase I and on the signing of contract with the Chinese contractors for undertaking urban development projects of AJ&K. The Prime Minister said, The Government accords top priority to the health and education sectors and physical targets achieved by ERRA are well up to the mark. He asked the Authority to bring further improvement in these areas. Commenting on the steps undertaken for the restoration of educational institutions in these areas, the Prime Minister said the decision taken by the Government to restore schools through pre-fabricated structures and to continue provision of educational services proved critical to maintain the education cycle to save students academic year. He said, Seismically resistant reconstruction of schools has raised the confidence and satisfaction level of the parents, which restored and increased enrolment, beside creating an enabling environment for learning. He noted with satisfaction that majority of the students were currently attending government-run educational institutions. He said that the ERRA was in the fifth year of its operations and had been involved in re-construction and rehabilitation of the affectees of the earthquake that killed thousands and rendered many shelter-less. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the provision of better-equipped health services in the affected areas. He said the trained staff was enhancing confidence and health awareness among communities. He lauded the timely interventions by the ERRA, which prevented the outbreak of any epidemic. Expressing satisfaction over the complete restoration of electricity in the affected areas, the Prime Minister said that it would significantly contribute in normalising peoples lives and the local economy besides facilitating reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. He also expressed satisfaction that timely provision of permits to cellular telecommunication companies to establish and operate their services had enhanced interface of the affected areas with rest of the country. The Prime Minister stressed that transparency must be ensured in procedures while awarding contracts and selection of human resources. The Prime Minister was briefed on the challenges demarcated by the ERRA for its operations. These include reconstruction and rehabilitation of destroyed infrastructure, renewal of livelihood, protection of environment, re-establishment of telecom and power networks and rehabilitation of vulnerable population, and clearance of massive slides and tonnes of rubble. The various sectors focused are housing, education, health, water and sanitation, govt sector buildings, power, telecommunication, roads & bridges, livelihood, social protection, environment and tourism. The Prime Minister was further briefed that with the construction of 96 percent seismically resistant houses, the owner-driven approach had brought about a paradigm shift in reconstruction through the ERRA Rural Housing Reconstruction Programme (RHRP). The new constructions, outside the RHRP also follow ERRA principles; unsafe construction practices have significantly reduced as compared to pre earthquake. The families are now living in safer houses and focusing on re-establishing their businesses and other issues of life. Timely assistance and support have helped the affected households re-establish their houses and maintain their occupancy status at a better level of pre-earthquake. The Prime Minister was briefed that Promotion of Rain Water Harvesting is being carried out amongst 100,000 households. Water Quality Improvement and Promotion of Hygiene (WAQIPH) has been launched in collaboration with the UNICEF. Sanitary Inspection Survey of 2913 water supply schemes (WSS) out of 3500 schemes has been completed, rest in process. Improvement of source protection at 1200 WSS is under process. WatSan programme has resulted in better family health and improved hygiene status. It has also increased accessibility (within 75-100 metres) to drinking water and thereby reduced time spent on water collection. Briefing the Prime Minister on the status of progress on prevention of diseases, it was stated that diseases like diarrhoea and skin irritation were significantly reduced with adequate water supply and hygiene promotion by the ERRA. Hygiene practices are also fortified by installation of improved toilets by majority of the population. Simultaneously, open area defecation is also reduced. Co-located Muzaffarabad District Complex and other allied ERRAs support to the civil administration is facilitating uninterrupted extension of services and inter departmental coordination resulting in improved efficiency. The Prime Minister was briefed that the Community Livelihood Rehabilitation Plans are under implementation, which include bridle paths, shingle tracks, rainwater harvesting ponds, kitchen gardens, plant nurseries, fruit orchards, rehabilitation of water mills, vocational training and provision of sewing machines. These projects are Village-Level Development Programmes, identified by communities, prepared with technical assistance of NGOs/line departments. Seventeen Collaborative Watershed Management Projects are being undertaken (slope stabilisation, water management, enterprise development and agricultural enhancement). The Prime Minister was informed that skills development training is being imparted to the locals to enable them to earn their livelihoods. Livelihood Cash Grants Programme (LCGS) ensured the essential cash flow to the affected communities. This provided immediate and interim assistance and helped replace income losses. Livelihood restoration efforts enabled the community to recover from economic stress and to stabilise it to its previous state. A significant percentage of households perceive their current economic status as it has either been restored to the pre-earthquake level or it is better than that. Coupled with formation of Community-Based Organisations (CBO), CLRPs have created awareness among the communities of their participation for enhanced physical capital. Legal aid centres at Tehsil level provided legal assistance to 26,321 vulnerable families. The Prime Minister was briefed that a Targeted Vulnerability Survey was conducted to take stock of the vulnerable people in the EQAA, the results have been shared with government and non-government agencies for their inclusion in their welfare programmes. Social safety networks and construction of key institutions in the sector has facilitated access of vulnerable segments to legal aid, medical services and livelihood opportunities. Rural Landless (RLL) and Virtual Landless (VLL) policy of ERRA facilitated affectees through one-window operation services. Legal Aid Centres (LACs) catered for all those, who needed legal assistance to resolve their legal issues. Rehabilitation programme for the 'Persons With Disabilities (PWD) helped raise their morale and reduced their dependence on others. Slope stabilisation and environmental safeguards have contributed towards protecting the natural and physical infrastructure. Now the people have become more sensitive to the management. The ERRA was mentioned is the only organisation in the world, which is spending 0.8% on non-development expenditure. The meeting was informed that due to the environment friendly timber frame designs available in the housing guidelines, a potential threat to deforestation due to houses reconstruction has been reduced. The meeting was attended by Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, Prime Minister AJK, Raja Farooq Haider, Chairman ERRA, Altaf M Saleem and other senior government officials.