The chief executive may have handed out HK$11 billion to help Hongkongers weather inflation, but some lawmakers still have doubts about approving a government donation towards reconstruction in parts of Sichuan hit by May's deadly earthquake. Lawmakers believe the handouts were a response to criticism that the government appeared set to spend more helping the people of Sichuan than Hong Kong, though an authoritative government source has denied that is so. The handouts and the help for the mainland province require the approval of the Legislative Council's Finance Committee today. Leung Yiu-chung said he was still hesitant about approving HK$2 billion to kick-start a government fund for Sichuan reconstruction because the relief measures announced on Wednesday had not addressed the real needs of those at the grass roots. He said the measures were short-term and Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen had not outlined any reform of welfare policy or pledged to build more hospitals, clinics or old people's homes - as the government plans to do in Sichuan. 'He hasn't promised anything for us,' he said. Unionist Lee Cheuk-yan also said many questions remained unanswered about the Sichuan funding and the handouts had changed nothing. 'Disaster relief gets a five-year plan, but Hong Kong's grass roots don't get any restructuring plan at all,' he said. Another key concern for some lawmakers is that the government still cannot explain how the HK$2 billion will be used. A government paper says: 'As the relevant mainland authorities have not finalised the overall reconstruction plans, we are not able to finalise at this stage the list of reconstruction works to be supported by the HKSAR.' This has led some to ask why such urgency is being attached to approval of the funding. However, Civic Party legislator Ronny Tong Ka-wah said he was less likely to nitpick on this point after Mr Tsang's handouts. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party back help for Sichuan.