Ahsan Iqbal says during last four years not a single penny was spent on National Flood Protection programme ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday regretted that during the last four years the previous government did not spend a single penny on the National Flood Protection Programme which was approved by CCI in 2017 for developing an integrated flood management system as a result the country is facing worst calamity.The Minister made these remarkswhile speaking at the event titled, “an overview and findings of the Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF) - Waseel-e-Khurak, pilot project” was organized by the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) in collaboration with Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives. The National Flood Protection Programme was started for developing an integrated flood management system by focusing on reservoir operations, flood forecasting and early warning, flood risk zoning and watershed management with budgeting of Rs177b for first five years. However, not a single penny was spent during the last four years resulted the country is facing the worst calamity, remarked the Minister. “The current flood situation could have been different if some work had been done by the previous government on the National Flood Protection Programme, he added, while highlighting the fresh challenges which need to be addressed immediately. The Minister further added that the recent flood has not only claimed human lives, but it has also affected infrastructure and livelihood ar mega scale. The damages caused to crops and livelihood will certainly pose challenges for food insecurity in months to come, he added. “It is time to scale up the piloted initiatives, particularly the food bank model, to curb food insecurity at large to sustain our current indicators of nutrition, '' the Minister remarked. The Minister said that Vision 2025 was a step towards enhancing the nutrition indicators of mother and child, many key initiatives have been taken so far i.e joining of Global Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in 2013 which advocates for the right to nutritious food to all population at all times. Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Ministry of Planning Commission has prepared a framework for the rehabilitation of flood-affected people. Under the framework several measures will be taken for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people. The Minister directed the concerned stakeholder to immediately start work for the rehabilitation particularly in education, health and infrastructure, the sectors which have been affected badly in a recent flood. _
