KARACHI: The South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) a regional network of human rights defenders on Friday raised critical concerns over the Sindh government`s efforts to rehabilitate victims of 2022 floods and reconstruct their homes, highlighting flaws in the whole process from the designing stage to the implementation level.

A fact-finding mission of SAHR comprising environmental rights lawyer Ahmad Rafay Alam, execu-tive director of South Asia Partnership Pakistan Mohamad Tehseen and general secretary of the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee Farooq Tariq visited Larkana, Shikarpur, Nawabshah and Hyderabad districts from Jan 6 to Jan 10 to investigate the compensation process for flood-hit persons in Sindh.

Unveiling their preliminary observations at a news conference at the Karachi Press Club, the team said that their `preliminary findings contradict the provincial government`s claims of launching one of the world`s largest housing projects in history for flood affectees`.

They said they were concerned that the proposed one-roomed `flood resilient` housing model, without basic amenities like a kitchen and a toilet, cannot be acceptable as a home.

They said that the amount of Rs300,000, provided by the government to build the one-roomed house, had become `unreasonably low` due to skyrocketed inflation.

`The mission doubts the capacity of the flood affected beneficiaries to spend their own funds on building a house without being in debt.

They demanded that the government review its design of housesand ensure provision of toilets, sanitation and kitchens.

They also called upon the government to reassess the amount of compensation paid to construct houses in the light of present costs of construction.

The mission also recommends that the government conduct fresh surveys of affected people to determine whether genuine affectees have been omitted from consideration.

Sanitation, health crisis The SAHR team said the villages where the mission visited did not have proper sanitation or drainage systems and people have holes in the ground to dispose allthe excrement and waste. `These unhygienic conditions have caused diarrhoea, malaria and skin diseases to spread in the community.

The mission found women and children are suffering from severe malnutrition, with limited access to proper healthcare due to destroyed road networks.

The mission observed children attending schools barefoot and without basic supplies, while many girls have been forced to drop out entirely.

`While it is the state`s responsibility to provide shelter, food, education, health and a clean environment to people, these fundamental rights of the vulnerable population have been violated and they are forced to live in inhumane and undignified conditions,` the members observed.

In the village Dhand near Mohenjo Daro in Larkana district, 40 houses were destroyed and only four single-room houses have been built so far. The mission was informed that the people have difficulties finding their names on the list of beneficiaries made by the government. Some families still live in tents and some in neighbours` houses. Those who established houses after the floods are not included in the government list.

The government subsidies that were provided earlier are insufficient today due to inflation and the people are finding it difficult to feed their families, the mission said.

`Awareness of climate change was almost non-existent among the communities and the people inter-viewed. They did not have even the basic idea of climate change and its effects. The affected people believe that disasters happened due to their own faults from a religious perspective,` it added.

The mission believes that recommendations from local activists and organisations committed to advocating for a comprehensive integrated development process for the affected communities `appear to be overlooked by the relevant government authorities`.

`Economic burden` The mission notes that though Pakistan`s contribution to greenhouse emissions is less than one per cent, the `burden it bears is unjustifiable and the climate finance mechanism is problematic`.

`Sindh has only received approximately $2 billion from the World Bank and other financial institutions mostly through debt financing, which in turn needs to be returned with interest, which will come from poor Pakistanis through unjustifiable taxes and add to their miseries.

`The mission believes that the catastrophic floods in Sindh under-score the critical importance of the Loss and Damage Fund established at COP27,` the members said, adding that the fund could provide a more equitable financing mechanism, offering direct support to communities like those in Sindh without adding to their debt burden.

`However, the fund`s current status with limited contributions from developed nations and unclear distribution mechanisms means that immediate relief for regions like Sindh remains inadequate,` it said.

The mission report detailing these findings and specific recommendations will be released in the coming weeks, the members added.

The mission also recommends global north countries responsible the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions should fulfil their promises and commitments of providing climate finance and loss and damage funding to countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.

`Such financing and funding must not be in the form of loans.

Loss and damage facilities should have robust verification and review processes to ensure funding is received by the people and communities affected by the climate crisis,` the mission members stated.