energy
The other option
By Tahir Ali
Facing acute power shortage, the country must utilise the micro-hydro-power generation potential available in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as soon as possible. Micro-hydro-power-generation plants (MHPPs) can be installed at natural or manageable waterfalls which are in thousands in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. A 50KW micro-power station can produce energy enough for around 150 households. People in upper Dir, Chitral, Swat, Shangla and Mansehra have installed hundreds of these plants for their energy needs.

Pakistan is a surreal country. Only here we have long, protracted struggles for democracy and only here we are almost always ready to scuttle democracy. Perhaps Iskander Mirza was not all too wrong while making the assessment that democracy does not suit the genius of our people. An added qualification is that it does not suit the genius of the elites, in particular the unelected institutions of the state.

There is now a clear and present danger that the judicial review of the 18th Amendment will lead to a potential clash of the key organs of the state: the legislature and the judiciary. Pundits have also predicted that if such a situation arises, then a logjam will benefit the third force — Pakistan’s well organized formal institution, which is readily available to undertake crisis management. Perhaps such fears are slightly exaggerated and misplaced. But the reality is that Pakistani history teaches us some interesting though unsavoury lessons.

Curse of history

The Constitution of 1956 was drafted, almost after a decade of the new country’s formation, as the elites were not interested in changing the colonial structure of the state and its institutions. After much negotiation and a bit of arm-twisting, parity between the Eastern and the Western wings was achieved and finalise the basic law. However, the 1956 Constitution could not be enforced let alone implemented, as new elections were a risk for the national security establishment, which took charge of the country in 1958. The second moment arrived in 1970, when a political consensus arrived through election with divisive results, was once again scuttled by the unelected institutions and the West Pakistani elites. The results were tragic. 1977 was a third moment when the Bhutto administration and PNA movement agreed on a workable package for the future course of politics in the country. Even before this accord could reach the public domain, the Islamo-fascist General took the reins of power and thwarted the political consensus. There is a clear lesson here: a political consensus — wide-ranging, legitimate and inclusive — is a threat to the post-colonial state and the inherent contradictions of the Pakistani polity come into play the moment such compacts are arrived at.

18th Amendment

No constitutional amendment and that too in a fractured and bruised country like Pakistan, can be perfect. Yet the erstwhile enemies, the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), along with a host of regional players, such as the Awami National Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam, deliberated for several months and agreed on a consensus formula. The allegations that such a deliberation took place within in-camera sessions was not representative, is simple hogwash. Across the globe, this is how political parties work, and not all divisive proceedings are made public for the legitimacy of such a process could easily be thwarted. This is especially true in Pakistan, where unelected, unrepresentative institutions are far more powerful than the operators of a fragile democracy. Public views were invited through national advertisements and all sorts of proposals were considered by the Raza Rabbani constitutional reform committee. The outcomes of such deliberations were speedily ratified by the two houses of parliament, which represent the entire spectrum of the Pakistani federation, and any attempt to undo this development would tantamount to nullifying the popular will.

What is the problem with the 18th Amendment? First of all, it substantially alters the structure of the post-colonial state by undermining the centre and its overgrown powers and functions through abolition of the Concurrent List. Second, it restores the original democratic ideal of Jinnah — a parliamentary framework, albeit it makes little headway on the "secular" portion of the Pakistan project. Third, it radically alters the way judges have been appointed in this country through a club of networks, affiliations, blood and marriage relationships, and above all, connection with the all-powerful executive. An inclusive commission with a majority of judges aims to distribute and dilute the discretionary part of the appointment process. Fourth, the fundamental rights of basic education and freedom of information open up immense possibilities for the concept of citizenship. As has been noted by many political scientists and writers such as Partha Chatterjee, the post-colonial state maintains the fragile association of the poor with the notion of citizenship by not declaring basic entitlements as rights. Education and information are two such powerful concepts. Last, the return of the powers to appoint army chiefs has rightfully gone to the head of the elected executive, i.e. the Prime Minister and the indirectly elected President has been relegated to a figurehead position.

The imminent clash theory

Within hours of the enactment of the amendment, a storm erupted within sections of the media and a section of the lawyers’ community about the alleged distortion of the "basic structure" of the constitution. The "basic structure" theory has emanated from our maligned neighbour, India, where the courts struck down amendments enacted during Indira Gandhi’s regime by labeling them as contrary to the basic structure of the Constitution. First of all, this borrowed imposition from a country which the Pakistani establishment loves to hate, is disingenuous, because our courts have ruled different things at different times, thereby denying a consensus on the basic structure theory, with respect to Pakistan. The most vocal opponent of the 18th amendment happens to be none other than the framer of the 1973 Constitution, Abdul Hafeez Peerzada, who has been making wild observation left, right and centre on how the constitutional amendment is undermining the original principles of the 1973 constitution.

Before we come to the technicalities of Mr. Peerzada’s position, it should be remembered that only a few months ago, Mr. Peerzada, admittedly the finest of legal brains in Pakistan, and an avowedly secular politician of yore, was arguing in favour of the Islamic provisions of the Constitution while indirectly attacking the immunity enjoyed by the President under Article 248. Perhaps Mr. Peerzada has also changed over the decades, for his express admission, Article 2A, which makes the Objectives Resolution an operative part of the Constitution, was legitimate. Article 2A was inserted by a brutal military dictator, who not only abrogated the 1973 Constitution and violated its basic features through the 8th Amendment, but also killed Mr. Peerzada’s celebrated benefactor, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The politics of Mr. Peerzada’s position is, therefore, deeply disturbing.

Even on technical grounds, a five-member judgment of the Supreme Court (Pakistan Lawyers’ Forum vs. Government of Pakistan, PLD 2005 SC 719) held that "this court does not have the jurisdiction to strike down provisions of the Constitution on substantive grounds". Similarly, there are several other references which confirm the view that the Supreme Court does not enjoy the power to strike down a constitutional amendment. Mr. Justice Ajmal Mian’s remarks in a judgment in Abdul Mujeeb Peerzada’s case, PLD 1990 Kar.9 are most instructive: "The superior courts of this country have consistently acknowledged that while there may be a basic structure to the Constitution, and while there may also be limitations on the power of parliament to make amendments to such a basic structure, such limitations are to be exercised and enforced not by the judiciary…, but by the body politic, i.e. the people of Pakistan."

On the face of it, therefore, the issue is settled. Why is there such a hullabaloo that there is an imminent clash of institutions? The reasons are not legal or constitutional, but they pertain to the redistribution of power that took place since April 2009.

Power shifts

The major shift that took place in 2009 was the restoration of the deposed judges through street agitation and political movement which had its own logic and a unique legal basis. There is no question that the military junta had illegally and shamefully deposed the judges in 2007. However, it was the same power group which facilitated the undoing of this wrong, bypassing the parliament and the elected executive, which was either unwilling to restore the judges or unsure about the legal modalities of achieving that.

A populist movement, highlighted by a new media industry, and backed by Punjab’s street power, drafted a new script of power dynamics in Pakistan. The traditionally powerful executive was now redistributed between the superior judiciary, which ironically acted through a well-known chain of command process. Since then, the judges have acted in a manner whereby they are clearly following their top leadership and setting a new precedent in Pakistan’s juridical history. Similarly, the repressed media, always a target of the powerful executive, especially the military dictators has gained and tasted a new assertion. Even though there is little media accountability (especially that of the electronic media) and it is a relatively young industry, the contours of its hold over public policy and outreach within the power circles is immense. With this new power alignment, Pakistan is a changed polity as the traditional troika has been undone, perhaps for good. As long as a civilian government lasts in power, the army, the elected executive, the Presidency will have to share the power with the judiciary and the media.

What is wrong with such realignment, one may ask? It is after all a historic undoing of the murky power politics of the past. The key issue with this new alignment is that it subsumes the "elected" within the range of the "unelected" power players. Within the five power centres now, at best two are direct expressions of the popular will. The other three will always dominate any policy or fundamental decision through sheer majority. The hotchpotch and the chaos of Pakistan’s power is astounding. Elections, therefore, are just one mode of power acquisition, for so many alternative channels (no pun intended) have emerged in Pakistan. So what do we make of this transitional nature of "power" and governance in Pakistan?

The fate of the 18th Amendment

In this melting-pot, known as the Pakistani power cradle, anything and everything is possible. It may well be the case that the courts reaffirm that constitutional amendments are the preserve of the parliament and do not satisfy their activist partners, i.e. the lawyers. Or the courts may actually strike down clauses of the 18th Amendment which in their view compromise the independence of the judiciary. The latter course of action would push Pakistan into another phase of deep instability and institutional chaos as the parliament may react to such a judicial verdict, given that there was a consensus recently forged by the erstwhile political enemies. Such a reaction would be most damaging to the country in a situation where a failing economy, the rise of militant Islamism and insurgencies in Balochistan, FATA and parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa haunt the formal institutions of the state. Therefore both the parties will have to show maximum restraint and foresight. What are the chances for such an ideal scenario?

The chances for such an accommodating pact are slim, as either of the two institutions will consider the future developments as an infringement or undermining of their newly-acquired powers. Let us not forget that the parliament has gained powers after nearly three decades while the judiciary has asserted itself in the power matrix after sixty years. Both the organs of the state, therefore, have newly found their "space" in the Pakistani mainstream and are not going to give that up willingly or easily.

One simple lesson of history should be clear, which has been indicated at the start of this essay. The institutional clash or a logjam scenario will favour the only well-organised institution of the State, which is armed in both the conventional and nuclear sense; and which is now in ascendance on the regional and global scene. If the parliament and judiciary want to continue exercising their newfound powers, they have no option but to act strictly within the framework of the Pakistani Constitution. Having said that, one often forgets which constitution we are talking about: the 1973 version, one that existed in the year 1999, or what was finalised in 2002. Or is it the April 2010 version? Perhaps in this confusion lies the endemic political instability of Pakistan. The country still is searching for a governance framework and an identity for itself.

The writer is a policy expert and a writer based in Lahore. He blogs at www.razarumi.com and edits Pak Tea House and Lahore Nama blog-zines. Email: razarumi@gmail.com

Political parties and their leadership are busy celebrating the consensus built around the 18th Amendment bill which is now in the final stages of its approvals. It is clear that local governments are made hostages of provincial administrations. A detailed discussion is required to examine the impacts of such prescriptions once information is made public. The immediate issue is the forthcoming local government budget which is being contemplated at various levels of local government departments.

Apparently, the sitting provincial governments shall exercise a great deal of influence to set the direction of future spending in the local affairs. As the usual practice, a budget document is an outcome of aspirations of the ruling class that intends to achieve its political objectives by directing public funds to the chosen heads of expenditure. The crude ideas are trimmed down in a clever manner by finance wizards who exist in almost every department.

Between the utmost conservative approaches of babus to the unbridled pragmatism of daring leaders, the complexion of budget document is finalised as an embodiment of compromise. The craftily balanced statistics and figures normally leave little for criticism, at least from the standpoint of mathematical rationality. But it is often the case that the nascent aspirations of ordinary people have very limited existence in the financial decisions that are manifested in local financial resolutions. This aspect becomes stark apparent at the level of district, town, tehsil and taluka level announcements, which have the most dominant bearing on the lives of ordinary people.

For commonly prevailing woes in society, solutions have to be worked out by the respective level of administrative cadres. And the option can only become effective if it receives appropriate funds from the concerned local government tier. It is disappointing to note that common problems of ordinary people do not find a befitting response at this vital stage of financial policy-making. For example, countless studies done in the domain of urban locations in Pakistan show that housing for low-income groups is a chronic issue.

With the rise in land prices, construction materials, technical inputs, and other allied ingredients, the poor find it next to impossible to develop housing compatible to family needs. The government has withdrawn direct subsidies on housing for a very long time. But in a civilized society that follows market economy doctrines; the state encourages benevolent entrepreneurs that venture to create affordable housing for less privileged citizens. This task is performed by an array of carefully worked-out target subsidies and incentives.

Institutions that extend credit support to lower-income people are consolidated. In certain cases fiscal relief is provided to ensure extension of social abetment to the downtrodden masses. One finds that housing remains a totally neglected domain in our financial policy priorities, even at the local level. With the exception of few rudimentary inputs of providing tertiary infrastructure, the local governments do not seem to be interested in facilitating housing to the needy groups.

Municipalities in the developing world have usually come up with worthwhile housing provision choices in many contexts. Social housing programmes are one category. By responding to the housing needs of lower-grade formal sector employees, a sizable number of the poor can be facilitated. Protection of land reserves, facilitation of formal developers to package housing for a range of income groups, extensions of housing loan options, and formulation of effective cooperative institutions are time-tested options to redress the pressing need of urban and semi-urban poor.

Our system of commuting is planned on the basis of social classes. Informal private sector has been the key service provider in most of the cities. Several government-managed transport corporations and companies have gone bankrupt and hence closed. At the intra city level, poor and lower-middle-income groups have to commute in rickety wagons and buses. Since financial incentives are non-existing and operational risks are very high, common private entrepreneurs do not enter into this domain of enterprise.

Middle and upper classes prefer motorcycles and cars. With the widespread car loan options, the trend of owning private cars has gained currency. As the policymakers are unable to gauge the plight of ordinary commuter, the trauma is lingering on. It is ironic to note that in large cities such as Karachi, vital transport schemes — like Karachi Circular Railways or Bus Rapid Transit — have been facing inordinate delays. Of the projects announced for the forthcoming year, no timeframe is given for the completion of this crucial project.

Karachi and Lahore shall be importing thousands of CNG buses. While any number of buses is a welcome addition, the initiative smacks of opportunism. Our automobile industry has not been able to scale up its output to the numbers and requirements. At the inter-city level, the fleet of private buses is mostly imported. The railway service has faced virulent criticism by all and sundry. It used to be the poor man’s safe and cheap mode of transport which has faltered on both counts. The government denounces suggestions regarding privatisation but does not come up with a planning and financing mechanism to bring the system on the right track.

Social and physical infrastructure in big and small cities is falling apart. The number of such urban locations is over 500 in Pakistan. In the usual outlay of budgets, more than 70 percent of allocation is barely enough to meet the establishment cost. Smaller municipalities are left with no funds to look after and maintain the crippling infrastructure. They are left with no choice except to keep applying to federal and provincial governments.

In rare cases, MNA, MPA or Senators’ funds come to the rescue. Facilities are adversely affected due to poor governance and acute shortage of human and monetary resources. Abandoned public buildings, ghost schools, and deserted clinics/hospitals are common. The scenario merits some innovative financial and governance initiatives to address these issues.

The federal government should consider creating a federal fund for urban development and maintenance of cities with less than one million population. It can begin by examining the available list of projects and programmes outlined in the Annual Development Programmes (ADPs) of respective districts. As the capacity of planning and development in these locations is virtually non-existent, the fund can become the support institution also. It can extend technical advice on urban and regional planning, project preparation, and formulation of tender documents, etc.

A similar venture has been introduced in India with the nomenclature of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Useful lessons can be drawn from similar attempts. At the level of medium and large cities, urban equalisation funds can be established. The concept behind these funds is to pool a portion of local tax and other revenue from affluent neighbourhoods for spending on under-developed locations. In some instances, the federal government contributes a matching grant to equalisation funds on the basis of the accumulated sum of local units.

energy

Facing acute power shortage, the country must utilise the micro-hydro-power generation potential available in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as soon as possible. Micro-hydro-power-generation plants (MHPPs) can be installed at natural or manageable waterfalls which are in thousands in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. A 50KW micro-power station can produce energy enough for around 150 households. People in upper Dir, Chitral, Swat, Shangla and Mansehra have installed hundreds of these plants for their energy needs.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has rich hydro-power base. It is home to an estimated 70,000 megawatt of the Pakistan’s overall 100,000 hydro-power generation potential. The vast canal network and hilly terrain in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa offers hundreds of sites for micro, mini and small hydro power plants. Depending upon the head and flow of water suitable turbines can be utilised to generate electricity from a few KW to MW from these sites. German experts have pointed out that 44000MW of electricity can be produced if three dams are built on the Chitral River alone.

Despite great untapped hydro-power potential, hydro power forms just 30 percent of the total installed power generation capacity from all sources in the country. The capacity of hydro-power plants in country is about 6704 MW, out of which 3849 MW are generated in the province. Today, when electricity demand has been estimated at 50, 000MW by 2018 and the country needs to add about 1200 to 1500 MW annually to the national grid, there can be no better alternative.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa information minister, Mian Iftikhar, recently said that at least half of the net hydel profit arrears would be spent on construction of small hydro-power generation schemes. The incumbent Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has given due priority to hydro-power generation. It has created a separate energy and power department and brought Sarhad hydro development organisation (SHYDO) under its control. It has approved 9 hydro-power projects worth 400MW. The feasibility reports of 84 new hydro-power schemes would be prepared soon. But much needs to be done.

An estimated 2000 MHPPs have so far been installed throughout the province — FATA and Northern Areas jointly by SHYDO, Northern Areas Public Works Department, and NGOs like the Aga Khan Foundation, Oxfam and the private sector. A European Union funded project also established similar plants in upper Dir. The Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) has also installed nearly 300 MHPPs with a capacity of 3.5MW. Another of its project to build MHPPs on sites in canals is under development.

Most of these plants are, however, operational in off grid areas. PCRET and SHYDO should start a concerted effort for extending the facility to more people and places where potential exists. Like Malakand division, the government should also allow community-based MHPPs in the settled districts of the province. There is enormous potential for these MHPPS in several canal systems of the province.

"There are at least 12 sites on the river-upper-Swat in Dargai alone which can produce over 1MW power each very easily," said Gulzaruddin, a local expert. MHPPs can deliver electricity to off-grid areas. These not only produce low cost electricity for domestic use but can also be utilised for small-scale industrial units. These are substantially cheaper from installation and maintenance point of view. There are no recurrent and fuel expenditures. There are also no distribution losses due to decentralised and local management. Being decentralised entities, MHPPs permit community participation in initiation, implementation, maintenance and management of the plants.

The locally manufactured cheaper MHPPs can make the task easy. A Mardan-based manufacturer of MHPPs has once again proved that Pakistani manufacturers are second to none but they need encouragement and technical support from the local entrepreneurs and the government in their efforts. Mohammad Hussain, director of a local engineering company, said that the hydro-power turbines they had manufactured with technical assistance of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) were 80 percent cheaper than their foreign counterparts.

"We had started manufacturing the hydro-power turbine in 1996. Now we are manufacturing turbines of up to 300KW capacity. We are the first company to have made the T15 cross-flow turbine in Pakistan. We can produce even greater HPPs if provided technical support by the government. If we are provided the designs, we can do that overnight," he says, adding "We have so far prepared and installed around 1500 micro-power stations with a capacity of around 10MW in NWFP, Gilgit Baltistan, AJK as well as in Afghanistan. We have supplied these micro hydro-power plants to government organisations, NGOs like Oxfam, Pakistan council of renewable energy (PCRET), for the EU funded Dir-Kohistan project and other projects."

According to Husain, the government should announce tax relief for the sector to make their products more competitive for a period of five years. Afghanistan, he says, is another place that could be big a market for the Pakistan-made MHPPs as it too had vast hydro-power potential.

Gulzaruddin, project director of a local company, says they have so far installed around 150 MHPPs in NWFP or tribal belt of the country. "At present, we prepare a turbine in three days. First of all, we go to the site and prepare the feasibility report of the place. Then we prepare a machine which is suitable for the place and install it there if asked for it," he says adding, "Our turbine is much cheaper than foreign ones. A 50KW micro-power turbine has a total cost of less than Rs0.8mn including the installation cost. The Indonesian and Chinese turbine alone has a price ranging between Rs1.2mn to Rs2.5mn respectively while its German counterpart is priced between Rs5mn and 7mn."

Amir Zeb, who runs two MHPPs in Damorai-Shangla said he is operating two plants for years now — one with a German-made turbine and the other with one manufactured in Mardan. "Both have a capacity of 50KW each. There is no difference in their performance though the one made by ME is cheaper by around 70 to 80 percent. The latter had been installed in 1998 with a total cost of Rs1.5mn while the former had cost around 15mn way back in early 1970s," he says.

Public certification for these manufacturers would improve their standing and buyers’ confidence. They also would have to be helped in marketing their products in the international markets. But to be able to meet bulk supply orders from local and foreign buyers, they also need to shift to computerised machinery.

Javed Khatak, Chief of Small and medium enterprise development authority, said the government and his organisation would do whatever possible to promote these export quality power-generation plants. "The private sector should encourage local manufacturers by buying these turbines. In the investment conference to be held soon by the provincial government, local technology, including this turbine would be highlighted. The government will also provide them support for their capacity enhancement so that they could be able to meet bulk-demands in future," he says.

Though SHYDO has to its credit the construction of the 88MW Malakand-III hydro-power project besides some other schemes, it is believed to have been not up to the mark. Attempts to contact Secretary Energy and Power Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Khalid Gilani, and Managing director SHYDO Ishtiaq Hussain Shah could not succeed. The sub-committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology, criticising the PCRET for ‘lack of vision and will to deliver’, had last year asked the government to immediately overhaul the institution.

Though the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government announced power policy in 2001, under which various incentives for investors in MHPPs were announced, such as selection on first-come-first-served basis, simple procedure consisting of only registration and bank guarantee, fixed nominal lease money of Rs 500/KW/annum, issuance of NOC within one month of registration and a three-year construction time limit for the project.

The private sector has not come in apparently for poor law and order situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. The government should simplify the process of establishing micro-power stations and encourage local investors.

A devastating earthquake — the worst ever in South Asia hit Pakistan on October 8, 2005, killing 73,338 people and wounding 128,304 in the picturesque Northern Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The earthquake affected 500,000 families and 3.5 million people, rendering over half a million without shelter in an area spread over 30,000 square kilometers. In addition to destroying 6,298 educational institutions, the quake caused colossal damage to buildings, essential facilities, and infrastructure, including 796 health units, 0.6 million houses, 6,440 kilometer road network and 50-70 percent of services like telecom, power, water and sanitation. Measuring 7.6 on Richter Scale, the earthquake caused more damage than Tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004.

Both in AJK and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), most of the areas near the earthquake’s epicenter were reduced to rubble within minutes, while damage in other areas was partial. The extent of the damage of the earthquake can be linked, among other factors, to the buildings’ structure, population density, soil type, frequency of aftershocks, etc. The earthquake came as a shock and found the nation and state institutions unprepared to meet the challenge that confronted them in the wake of widespread devastation. However, one needs to commend the resilience shown by the nation in responding to the calamity with courage and a sense of sacrifice for their fellow citizens. The response from expatriate Pakistanis and the international community was also quick.

Providing relief to 3.5 million people, living in nine affected districts of KP and AJK was, indeed, a daunting task, especially when the terrain was inhospitable and the government had no institutional set-up to effectively respond to a disaster of that magnitude. Still, the government promptly put in place a well-articulated relief, recovery, and reconstruction framework.

The Federal Relief Commission (FRC) took care of early relief and rescue operations, mobilising army units immediately. Since the nation lacked equipment/expertise to rescue those people who were buried alive under the debris of collapsed buildings, the government appealed to the global community for help/assistance. This resulted in the inflow of humanitarian aid — food, medicine, personnel and equipment — from all around the globe. People from across the country also reached out to the affected areas.

For efficient handing and timely dispatch of relief items to the affected areas, FRC established a logistic base at Islamabad and connected it to nine strategic hubs, one in each affected district. With assistance from foreign governments, INGOs, NGOs, individuals and corporate sponsors, FRC provided 385,000 temporary shelters to families, 951,790 tents, 6.361million blankets/quilts, some 256,376 ton ration and 3,053.76 ton medicines through 30,334 sorties. It also established 65 field hospitals and 86 field/mobile medical teams. To bring relief, reconstruction and rehabilitations operations under one umbrella, the government established a dedicated agency, the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) on October 24, 2005.

ERRA set up two coordinating agencies: Provincial Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (PERRA in KP) and State Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (SERRA in AJK). ERRA worked in 12 different sectors and three programmes: gender mainstreaming, disaster risk reduction, and environmental safeguards, funding 12,944 reconstruction projects at a cost of over US$ 5 billion. Prioritising sectors like rural housing, livelihood, health, education, water supply and sanitation, ERRA formulated their strategies. Each strategy included damage overview, needs assessment, and a vision for undertaking reconstruction.

For example, WATSAN strategy identified 4747 schemes, including 3,880 water supply schemes (wells, pumps, etc.) and 50,000 household latrines that had been damaged by the earthquake. So far, reconstruction of 3680 WATSAN schemes have been completed; while 1033 schemes are under construction, 22 are at tendering and 12 at designing stage. The vision of WATSAN sector is to improve the quality of life of the quake-affectees by reducing risks to public health through provision of sustainable and reliable supply of safe water and appropriate sanitation services.

In the countryside, so far, ERRA has helped in the reconstruction of 436,486 seismic resistant houses out of a total of 463,243 destroyed houses, achieving 96 percent success rate. Over Rs71 billion was disbursed among the affectees as rural housing subsidy, which resulted in the reconstruction of seismically-resistant Pucca houses in place of mud houses destroyed due to the earthquake.

In the education sector, construction of 1061 institutions has been completed, whereas 2149 institutions are at various stages of construction. To offset slow progress in the education sector, ERRA adopted strategies. Taking a lead from the success of owner-driven reconstruction of rural housing, it has launched a pilot project of community-driven reconstruction of schools in collaboration with UET Peshawar. In the first phase, it is constructing 20 Earthquake Resistant Primary Schools in remote areas with community’s help, using local material.

Out of 12,944 reconstruction projects, over 80 percent have already been completed. Since conventional construction techniques take time, latest technologies were introduced in a bid to quicken the reconstruction pace. Despite security concerns in Kohistan and Shangla districts, ERRA teams continued with reconstruction/rehabilitation work in a bid to complete projects on time.

All the newly constructed buildings are safe and capable to withstand an earthquake of 10 magnitude on Richter scale. Dealing with around 80 international/national NGOs, eight UN agencies, five multinationals, 15 bilateral and scores of philanthropists, charities and government departments, ERRA set in place a robust coordination/feedback system.

Among other countries, Turkey has played a commendable role in alleviating the quake survivors’ sufferings. Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, paid two visits to Muzaffarabad within a span of four years. During his second visit on October 26, 2009, Erdogan noted that Muzaffarabad was in a much better condition than it was four years ago after the earthquake.

Inaugurating a newly-built boys primary school in Lower Chattar (Muzaffarabad) in place of one completely destroyed by the quake, Australian High Commissioner in Pakistan, Timothy Spencer George said the damages were huge, but the "incredible resilience of the people and government was equally unmatched". Amongst others, Ambassador of China Luo Zhaohui, Country Director USAID Robert Wilson, and UNICEF Representative Martin Mogwanja have also lauded Pakistan’s reconstruction efforts.

Due to the government’s unflinching support, ERRA hopes to complete reconstruction work in the quake-affected areas by December 2011, except City Development reconstruction projects of urban centers like Balakot and Bakrial (KP), and Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalakot (AJK). Muzaffarabad and Balakot are located on active fault lines. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has fixed June 30 as the deadline for the initiation of all the remaining projects.

ERRA started work on redesigning and shifting population of the substantially devastated urban centers in mid-2007, acquiring land and making payments to landowners at market rates. However, this proved to be a challenging job since it required overcoming peoples’ emotional and economic attachments to their home.

ERRA has completed 50 percent work on New Balakot City Development Project Phase I. It has also started work on six reconstruction projects, costing US$ 25 million in collaboration with Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation. These include: a mosque, with state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate 10,000 worshippers at a cost of Rs385.40 million, degree colleges for boys and girls, six primary schools, core commercial area, and a tehsil headquarters hospital.

The Authority has signed a contract with Chinese contractors for undertaking AJK’s Urban Development Projects. It has already constructed two centers — Social Welfare Complex at a cost of Rs23.482 million and Benazir Bhutto Women Development Centre at a cost of Rs12.87 million in Muzaffarabad.

For giving a boost to the economy of the quake-affected areas, the government should also initiate schemes, like small and medium enterprises, skill development, etc that result in providing employment to the local population near their homes. Since AJK and Northern Areas have a lot to offer to tourists, Islamabad should advise PTDC to develop necessary infrastructure for the promotion of tourism in those areas.

Alauddin Masood is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad.

Email: alauddinmasood@gmail.com

Pakistan-India Farmers’ Forum (PIFF) is an initiative taken by Green Circle Organization (GCO) in 2008 with the aim to promote peace and cooperation among Indo-Pak farming communities through exchange visits, bridging misconceptions, healing wounds of migrating families, and sharing of experiences to adopt better practices resulting into more income of poor farmers.

Taking this initiative on the platform of Pakistan-India Farmers Forum was a strategic step as it increased opportunities to strengthen it in the form of initiative that has been successful due to increasing demands from both sides of the border for the continuation of the programme.

Since the time of its inception, the membership of Pakistan-India Farmers Forum is rapidly increasing and bringing closer not less than 2000 farmers from both countries.

The soul mate of GCO is Jalandhar Potato Grower Association (JPGA) that warmly welcomed the idea and went into partnership to facilitate in arranging and hosting the exposure visit of Pakistani farmers. The organisation selected places and institutions in Indian Punjab to arrange the meetings that could be innovative and beneficial for the farmers’ group.

The first ever Pak-India Farmers Forum’s visit took place on 4th June 2009. Some of the representatives from civil society, peace activists, lawyers and academia also joined the group. The agricultural reforms in India, use of new technologies and its appropriateness for replication in Pakistani climate and environment were the main areas of study. The delegation visited various fields in Hoshyarpur, Haryana and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Learning from experiences of Indian farmers, potato growers from Dipalpur and Okara districts of Pakistan were oriented, which was followed by the engagement of farmers’ organisations from all over Pakistani Punjab for the same.

A series of orientation meetings and seminars were conducted to sensitise groups on the maintenance of irrigation system, agro tools, and implementing techniques, selection of quality seeds and sharing best practices. It resulted in the reorganisation of potato growers with the prime focus for increased production.

The farmers’ group from both sides also exchanged the ideas of plant tissue culture which is a practice used to grow plants under sterile conditions, often to produce clones of a plant. This technique helps produce better crops in less time. The technology helps produce plants in the absence of seeds.

Later on, selected members of PIFF underwent training in Islamabad in tissue culture so as to understand the technology and then apply it in cultivating fields. Similarly, the group visited Qarshi Industries to look at medicinal plants and right now it is negotiating plans to work together to promote the planting of such plants in Pakistan and look into its marketing across the border. It was also decided to carry out an experiment by importing banana plants from Bangalore so as to sow them in Sindh. For this purpose, Sindh Banana Farmers have been engaged to sign an MoU with KF Biotech India for theoretical and hands-on training (in India) and practical demonstrations (in Nawabshah) on Banana Tissue culture to produce virus free bananas in the country.

During the visit at Hoshiarpur Department of Agriculture and Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, they offered to demonstrate the virus-free Kino Technology with Pakistani Kino Farmers.

The organisers of PIFF ensured the involvement of academia from Pakistan and kept informed agriculture universities in both India and Pakistan about the learning and experience of PIFF. Consequently, vice chancellors deputed their relevant professors and researchers to be in touch with PIFF.

The organisations from both sides working to promote peace, including Aman Committee, Lahore, Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), Lahore (country office) and Citizen Peace Committee, Islamabad were engaged to explore opportunities to promote efforts for peace and harmony.

Many places in the Indian Punjab were visited where the members from Pakistan were warmly welcomed, including the Golden Temple and Jalianwala Bagh. The group conducted press conferences at each location to promote peace for the development of both the countries. The groups were of the view that since there are many sacred places like Nankana Sahib, Hasan Abdal, and Narowal in Pakistan and some shrines in India where people visit regularly, such ritual ceremonies must be seen as an opportunity to improve people-to-people contacts and build harmony. The members also expressed their enthusiasm saying communities from both sides have many similar traditions and livelihood practices which may bring people closer to each other. These visits helped changing people’s perceptions about each other and helped in healing the wounds of partition.

The writer is a development practitioner, working in the areas of social sector programme planning and management. He can be reached at bilal.naqeeb@gmail.com

caption

A learning experience: Indian and Pakistani farmers exchange progress on farm technology.

The secret of India’s high-tech success

When India started liberalising in 1991, many expected it to follow the path of export-oriented low-wage manufactures charted by other Asian countries. This proved impossible since Indian politicians would not liberalise labour laws that made labour artificially expensive. But, to everybody’s surprise, India leapfrogged this area and achieved huge success in high-tech areas, ranging from computer software to R&D.

How so? There were many reasons. But one that escaped attention earlier was highlighted by Vivek Wadhwa in 2008 in the Harvard Business Review. In an article titled "A disciple becomes a guru," he showed how Indian companies had innovated skill training to the point where they now had much to teach the USA.

Back in 2002, India claimed to produce 350,000 engineers per year. But this included "diploma engineers" who were not true engineers at all. India actually graduated only 102,000 real engineers in 2002. This went up to 222,000 in 2006 and may be double that in 2011. India does have some excellent engineering schools, but Mckinsey estimates that only 25% of Indian engineering graduates are good enough to work for multinationals (and only 15% of finance graduates and 10% of those with degrees of any kind).

Yet in 2007, India’s five largest IT services companies added 120,000 engineering jobs, and IBM and Accenture added another 14,000. Pharma R&D companies boomed. And foreign car companies made India an export and R&D hub to capitalise on its engineering skills.

Where did so many quality engineers come from? Wadhwa sent a research team from Harvard and Duke Universities to find out. He discovered that Indian companies were first disciples, learning from the best practices of Western companies in India (like IBM and Accenture). Then the Indians innovated and improved training and management systems much further, so that the disciples became gurus.

In recruitment, Indian companies stopped looking at resumes. Good resumes often reflect an ability to write good resumes, not real skills. Instead Indian companies put applicants through psychometric tests and rigorous interviews to identify general abilities and aptitude, rather than specialised skills. Instead of hiring only from elite engineering colleges, companies like Infosys and TCS recruited from second- and third-tier colleges, and also from arts and science schools.

Multinationals prefered to recruit people with established skills. But Indian companies realized that recruits had to be trained from scratch. Many companies virtually became universities, employing hundreds of trainers.

The Infosys Global Education Centre at Mysore trains 13,500 people at a time. For arts and science recruits, TCS provides an additional three months of training. In all, many recruits get four to seven months of training before starting work.

This would be impossibly expensive in the West. It is economic in India. Thus, low-cost training has been transformed into an international advantage, giving India a competitive edge in high-tech exports.

Training is a continuous process, just in technical issues but in management skills, quality consciousness, communications, foreign-language and personal-effectiveness skills. Companies commonly mandate one to four weeks of yearly training. The career development and salaries of staff are linked to skills acquired from training.

Mentorship by senior executives is another key Indian practice. Cadence India has a "leaders as teachers" program: every manager must spend one to two weeks teaching internal classes. Not even the CEO is exempted.

Managers are groomed through fast-track programs for the best-performing employees, who then get preference in promotions. Once, Indian companies desperately sought foreign-returned managers. Today, they can find better talent locally. Returnees from abroad can have a hard time getting a good job.

Employees get reviewed at the end of every project, and are prescribed training if found to have weaknesses. Mechanisms such as 360-degree reviews (wherein you review your bosses and peers) and balanced-scorecard reviews are widely used. Managers are evaluated on a variety of non-financial measures, including employee satisfaction, attrition rates, and mentoring.

This constant skill upgradation has enabled India to move into higher realms of innovation and R&D. In aerospace, Indian companies are helping design everything from engines to in-flight entertainment systems. In pharmaceuticals, Indian companies are discovering drugs and doing clinical research for the largest multinationals. In autos, India has not just designed components for Detroit but created the Nano. Over one lakh Indians are now in advanced R&D. General Electric has spent $ 50 million on making India its largest R&D base in the world.

The software industry complains of a high attrition rate—up to 30% of employees leave every year. But this means that companies end up training people not just for themselves but for the whole industry. That is one more secret of India’s success.

caption

Indian youth get used to Information Technology