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Post-Earthquake Rural Housing Reconstruction Program in AJK and NWFP

I~ WORLD BANK PAKISTAN

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The post-earthquake Rural Housing Reconstruction Program (RHRP) in the nine affected districts of AJK* and NWFP is nearing physical completion by the third anniversary of the earthquake. The RHRP is a flagship earthquake recovery program of the Government of Pakistan which is being implemented through the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation AuthOrity (ERRA) and the home-owners themselves. Both the pace and quality of implementation under the RHRP has been remarkably impressive - specially when compared with similar homeowner-driven housing reconstruction programs elsewhere in the region and internationally, which in most cases have met with only partial and belated success.

While the physical success of the RHRP is manifested in the seismic resistant reconstruction of more than 300,000 houses under the program, it is the behavioral change triggered by the program which indicates that its intended developmental impact is beginning to be achieved.

This is no less than a sea-change among a people who were initially exceedingly hesitant to accept any variation in the construction methods practiced by them. While these had been inherited from their

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l~al effiUrea Itruduralln!~nl~ a~alnd ~arthlJuak@~ in a high risk zone had been Lost over time. '

The beneficiaries under the RHRP have been encouraged, cajoled, or convinced to adopt safer construction practices through a variety of means under the program. However, evidence suggests that residents building houses with their own funds are also beginning to implement seismic-resistant structural design features, implying the dawn of a new beginning - a culture of seismic resistant construction seems to be taking root.

The RHRP has been financially and technically supported by the World Bank through its Emergency Recovery Project (ERP) and the additional financing of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund . Together, the World Bank funding for the Program comes to US$ 448m -close to a third of the estimated Program cost of USS 1.5 billion.

• "111ls PrO)e<:t Is being carried out In AJK . World Bank does not Intend to make an • an area over whIch India and Pakistan have been detennlnation of the parties' claims." Y Judgment as to the legal or other status of any dis~~t:~~ since 1947, By ~inanCin!l the project the

e tones or to prejUdice the final

Three years ago, it all seemed like a dream. At best, the project was seen as a highly ambitious and a highly risky intervention, considering that it required changing the mindsets of a shocked and grieving universe of affectees of a massive earthquake. The immediate requirement was to provide them with a basic shelter to protect against the harsh winter that was already setting in. The next set of chaUenges involved classifying the level of destruction of each housing unit against uniform technical criteria; identifying eligible beneficiaries for the RHRP; providing them with a range of seismically resistant and culturaUy acceptable structural design options; developing corresponding and equitable grant packages; quickly disbursing the first and second grant tranches to almost 600,000 beneficiaries spread over 30,000 sq.km of rugged mountainous terrain; and finally, establishing multi-stakeholder implementation and coordination mechanisms down to the grass root level.

The biggest challenge however came in the form of overcoming inhibition, inertia, and resistance to change - both among beneficiaries and a host of other stakeholders. Despite having signed MOUs with the government to follow seismic resistant construction standards, and having received the second grant tranches, many were not convinced that this was the way to go. There were several others who, while convinced, were confused about 'how to go about it'. The Government of Pakistan combated such attitudinal trends and incapacities by mobilizing a huge technical assistance network comprising of the Pakistan Military's engineering resources, UN agencies, and an array of civil society players, while maintaining a close strategic partnership with the Bank. The Bank too had to change from fts traditional mode of periodic implementation support to a more intimate day-to -day operational partnership with both ERRA as well as its multiple implementation partners.

Moreover, a large force of social mobilizers was deployed and public information and sensitization campaigns designed and implemented - to ensure program outreach to the remotest comers of the affected region. Once reconstruction activities commenced, thousands of Pakistan Military engineering personnel were first trained and then deployed for inspecting these houses at the various pre-agreed stages of construction for quality verification and release of the next tranche.

The twofold challenge of ensuring the judicious use of the grant monies under the program and of maximizing seismic compliance by the beneficiaries has continued unabated throughout the Program duration. It has had to be dealt with and mitigated through massive supervision efforts - Including keeping apace with and close monitoring and analyses of housing reconstruction trends, and evolving methods for easy and low­cost structural retrofitting for non­compliant cases. Complementing such efforts have been the indigenous, state of the art Monitoring and Evaluation and Management Information SyStem-based grfevance monitot1O! and redressal systems that were ~ Oy various implementation partners under the program.

One look at the remote and rugged Himalayan terrain that constitutes the Program area, and the sparsely sprinkled communities - sometimes perched impossibly on mountain tops or buried deep in ravines - and one is awestruck and dumbfounded by what has been achieved in such a short time. And this has been possible only through the sheer will of the people, the unfaltering commitment of the Government of Pakistan, and the relentless energy displayed by a bevy of implementation partners. Three of the most remarkable accomplishments under the program include:

More importantly however, aU the above achievements or 'outputs' have been delivered and converged in such a way as to create a gradual yet monumental developmental impact of inducing a culture of voluntary seismic compliance in housing reconstruction in this high seismic risk zone.

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, Time Interval I - Overall Cumulative Disbursement to Beneficiaries by GOP (including support to provo govts and PPAF housing

program for additional 1st Grants),- USDm

--Overall Cumulative Disbursement to Beneficiaries (GOP+PPAF Housing Programs) - USDm

--Cumulative Disbursement to GOP through Bank ERC Housing Component - USDm

FA C T 5 H E E Tl ERRA's Post Earthquake Response in AJK and NWFP

Rural Housing Reconstruction and Rehabilitaton Program

Tota! Housing Stock Damaged and Destroyed by Earthquake 2005 600,000

DAMAGE CLASSIFICATION

Houses under ERRA's RHRP (excluding 34 UCs under PPAF) 477,168 Of which Fully Destroyed 351,181 Partially Structurally Damaged 86,911 Minor Non-Structurally Damaged 39,076

RECONSTR UCTION PROGRESS & QUALITY

Rehabilitation of Damaged Houses Completion % 100% Reconstruction of Destroyed Houses Completion % 70% Number of Houses Fully Reconstructed to Compliant Standards 241,144 Present Rate of Beneficiary Compliance with ERRA's Standards 94%

FINANCIAL PROGRESS

Overall Amount of Grant Disbursements to Beneficiaries US$ 1.077 bill Including 1st & 2nd Grant Disbursements to % Beneficiaries 100%

3'd Grant Disbursements to % Beneficiaries 81% 4'h and Final Grant Disbursements to % Beneficiaries 53%

'The figures presented cover ERRA union councils only and exclude PPAF areas.

Notwithstanding the highly successful and earlier than antidpated completion of the RHRP, further efforts and informed interventions are still required, not only to tackle existing implementation issues and bring the Program to a befitting closure, but also to ensure that appropriate institutional structures remain available, particularly for issues that are likely to linger on beyond the substantial closure of the program. These include the amicable resolution of grievance cases which, experience suggests, can persist for a considerable period. Shahnaz Arshad, World Bank's team leader for the rural hOUSing reconstruction program even feels that the Government of Pakistan should seize the opportunity for sustaining, deepening, and extending the project developmental impact beyond the Program duration and its benefldaries, to fully stimulate a culture of seismic resistant construction In all sectors across the high risk prone affected areas of AlK and NWFP. Such sustainabUity, in Shahnaz"s view, can partly be achieved by "absorbing the capagties developed under the RHRP into sustainJble Institutional structures These include the human resources trained in supervistna, 8S$istint, and constructing setsmic:-resJstant structures as well as the extremely effective MaE and MIS systeI'ft$ Cum y these are dispersed I Housing . Centers (t:tRCs) located 8QVSS the affected di ,

Resource Centres (Da ), and tile DrSt:lltct administrations If these co d be b ugh tog that und . onal belnl~n'4',,1Cf

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numerous local technical resource persons that were trained as part of the RHRP training programs - to keep working towards the sensitization and technical assistance of disaster-susceptible communities, beyond the Project duration. "

J Y&J WI,J 10: MIrfam Aitaf • Public Information Centre (PIC) 2O-A, Shahratt-e-Jumhuriat, G·S/1, Islamabad 44000, Paldstan. Ph: +9251 2279641-7 f, • +'., ~