Over 600,000 Sindh flood victim families denied housing grants despite govt promises

Laal Khatoon, a mother of five, lives in Ambpur village in Larkana’s Dokri Tehsil, located in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province. Her husband, a laborer, passed away in 2019, leaving her with three sons and two daughters. "After my husband's death, the responsibility of running the household fell on my shoulders," she told Nukta.

Laal Khatoon and her young daughter struggle to make ends meet through embroidery and sewing.

In 2022, devastating floods in Pakistan washed away their home, forcing the family into months of displacement. Hope returned when her name appeared on the list of homeless flood victims eligible for government assistance. The Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), an NGO, helped her open a bank account to receive financial aid. Soon after, she received the first installment of PKR 75,000 under the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) project to build a new one-room house.

She was told the second installment would come once construction reached plinth level. However, meeting the project's construction criteria cost her nearly PKR 200,000 just to reach this stage. She later received the second installment of PKR 100,000 for construction up to lintel level, a third installment of PKR 100,000 after completing the lintel, and a final installment of PKR 25,000 after installing the roof.

Widow Laal khatoon resident of village Ambpur sitting along with her children in newly constructed house with the financial support of SPHF project. Nukta

In total, Laal Khatoon received PKR 300,000 from the Sindh government, but her house cost PKR 500,000 to complete. To cover the difference, she took a bank loan of PKR 150,000. "I struggle to repay the debt as my sewing work barely sustains my family," she said. Her daughter cannot attend regular school because she must assist with embroidery deadlines. Laal Khatoon has appealed to the Sindh government to help repay her loan.

This is not just Laal Khatoon's story but that of millions of flood victims in the province.

Two and a half years have passed since the 2022 floods that devastated Pakistan. Sindh province bore the brunt of the disaster. International organizations reported that 70% of Sindh was submerged, with 24 of 30 districts declared disaster zones. The floods damaged 2.1 million houses and affected 15 million people.

The billion-dollar plan

In February 2023, the Sindh government launched the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) project with support from the World Bank and other international donors. A public sector company was registered under the SECP Act to manage operations.

The Sindh government claims this initiative is building 2.1 million houses across 24 flood-affected districts—the world's largest housing program for flood victims. Project management states they've secured the approximately $2 billion required: $500 million from the World Bank, $400 million from the Asian Development Bank, $200 million from the Islamic Development Bank, $100 million from the European Investment Bank, and PKR 50 billion each from the Sindh and federal governments.

A home constructed under the ambit of the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) project.Nukta

The project timeline extends to June 2027. According to announcements, 210,000 families will receive PKR 300,000 each in four installments through bank accounts to build new one-room houses, while partially damaged homes qualify for PKR 50,000.

Various NGOs handle field monitoring and implementation, helping beneficiaries open bank accounts and ensuring construction meets requirements. Beneficiaries receive subsequent installments only after NGO engineers verify the previous construction phase.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while briefing media on his government's one-year performance on March 12, 2025, described SPHF as his government's "close to heart and flagship project," claiming it's the world's largest housing initiative. He stated that 2 million flood victim families have been validated, 1.11 million beneficiaries have opened bank accounts, 1 million have received first installments, and 400,000 houses have been completed.

Promises vs reality

To assess ground realities, we visited Larkana, the political stronghold of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and home district of its chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The NGO Sindh Rural Support Organization monitors the project in five districts, including Larkana.

Sikandar Sanam, SRSO team leader for the SPHF project, said 131,000 flood-affected families in Larkana district are registered for housing assistance. By January 2025, 67,000 families had received first installments, and 20,000 houses were completed.

In Ambpur village, Dokri Tehsil, 319 families are registered for housing rehabilitation. Of these, 221 have received first installments, and 130 houses are complete. However, we found no house fully constructed within the PKR 300,000 government grant. Each beneficiary spent an additional PKR 150,000-200,000 to complete construction.

Arbab Khatoon, a village resident and mother of four, complained that despite being registered, she hasn't received aid after two years of waiting. To protect her children, she sold two animals—a buffalo and a cow—and took loans to build a room. Now she's told she's ineligible for grants because she built on her own initiative.

Arbab Khatoon, a resident of village Anbapur in Larkana, is sitting with her daughter outside her newly built house which was constructed on a self-help basis.Nukta

"What crime did I commit by taking a loan to build my house that I'm being deprived of rightful aid?" she asked.

Sikandar Sanam confirmed that the Sindh government has decided registered flood victims who rebuilt independently won't receive project assistance.

"We need shelter"

In the village of Imam Bakhsh Mallah near Moen jo Daro, most residents live below the poverty line. Men work as fishermen while women make wooden canopies. Village head Imam Ali Mallah said government surveys confirmed 300 destroyed houses, but only three families received construction assistance. "What crime have the poor of this village committed to be deprived of aid?" he asked.

Rahmat Khatoon, a widow from the village, lost her husband Ali Nawaz Mallah in the floods, along with their home. Her eldest son has polio, while another son lost his eyesight after a stroke caused by untreated high blood pressure. For two and a half years, they've lived in an open hut. "Officials conducted surveys and took our photos, but we never received help to rebuild," she said. "We could survive by begging if needed, but we desperately need shelter."

For the past two and a half years, Rahmat Khatoon, a widow residing in a wooden shack with her disabled children in the village of Imam Bakhsh Mallah in Larkana, is describing her sorrows and hardships to Nukta's special correspondent Akhtiar Khokhar. Nukta

Another villager, Khadim Hussain, received PKR 275,000 under SPHF for a new house but hasn't completed the roof. He explained that the government gave him PKR 175,000 for construction up to lintel level, but actual costs reached PKR 350,000. He borrowed PKR 100,000, then used his third installment to repay this loan instead of finishing the roof. He now plans another loan to complete construction.

Khadim Hussain Mallah, a resident of the village Imam Bakhsh Mallah in Larkana, is sitting with his family in front of his incomplete house. Khadim Hussain received the full grant allocated from the SPHF project to build his house, but this amount has proven insufficient for completing the construction.Nukta

Throughout Larkana, we found numerous houses where full SPHF funds were disbursed but construction remained incomplete. Government funding proved insufficient, leaving many flood victims in continued distress.

The Chief Minister claims that by year-end, they will complete 2 million houses.

Systemic exclusions

Project CEO Khalid Ahmed Shaikh admitted to Nukta that of 2.1 million registered families, only about 1.5-1.6 million will receive assistance. A new Sindh cabinet decision reclassifies partially damaged "kacha" (mud) houses as fully damaged for rebuilding purposes, but excludes partially damaged "paka" (brick) houses—estimated at 200,000-250,000—from assistance.

Houses already reconstructed by victims—over 100,000—are also excluded. Additionally, aid for victims living on others' land—350,000-400,000 families—has stalled because they don't own the property. "These flood victims can only get housing assistance if landowners transfer ownership rights or enter 20-year tenancy agreements," Shaikh explained. He also confirmed that over 100,000 flood-affected families in riverine areas are no longer part of the project.

Project documents indicate 94% of beneficiaries are extremely poor, earning less than $70 monthly.

When informed that field visits found no house completed within the PKR 300,000 government grant, Shaikh agreed: "It is not possible to complete reconstruction according to specifications with the government grant of three hundred thousand rupees."