MANSEHRA: A delegation of the World Bank visited Kohistan on Thursday and met with the people being affected by Dasu hydropower project in an attempt to settle the dispute over land price between the landowners and Wapda.
The construction work of the dam was suspended a couple of months ago after the landowners and affected people refused to give their land on prices fixed by the district revenue department and forcibly got the work stopped. The three-member team, led by Jhao Hao, heard the reservations of the committee, constituted by the landowners and affected people, about the prices fixed for their land.
The committee leaders told the WB team that despite taking up the issue on all forums they were yet to receive appropriate rates of their land. They said that the revenue department had fixed prices for their land, houses and trees at much less than the market rates and this was why they were reluctant to give their land for the project.
Speaking to the affected people, Jhao Hao said that they should negotiate whatever reservations were in their minds. “I am optimistic that the local administration and Wapda authorities will sit together and find out an amicable solution to all issues, which are creating hurdles to execution of the project,” he said.
Meets landowners, hopes Wapda to amicably resolve land price issue
The committee assured the delegation that if the Wapda authorities and local administration accepted their demands and reviewed the previous rates they would not create hurdles to the construction of 4,320MW hydropower project.
MEGA PROJECTS: PML-N lawmaker Mohammad Safdar has said that the federal government has finalised several mega projects for his native Mansehra and Hazara division and time is not far when people would see a real change there.
“The federal government wants to bring a real change in Hazara and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through development and it has sanctioned 18 mega development projects for Hazara alone which would bring a revolutionary change in the lives of common people,” said Mr Safdar while speaking to local mediapersons who met him in the Prime Minister’s House on Thursday.
Mr Safdar, who has not been visiting his NA-21constituency after the banned TTP allegedly hurdled threats on Sharif family last year, said that his political opponents were making a hue and cry over non-issues like his not visiting his constituency and the district.
Mr Safdar, who is the son-in-law of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said that he could not attend his uncle’s funeral because of serious threats to his life. “I believe in serving people and I am doing this in a better way while sitting at the PM House as delegates of my constituency and district visit me daily and I am addressing their problems,” said Mr Safdar. He said that the federal government was going to establish an airport in Lassen Nawab area of Mansehra district and it had approved Rs450 million for initiating work on the project. He said that the prime minister would inaugurate Hassanabdal-Havelian motorway section of Pak-China Motorway later this month.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader said that land for first phase of the project from Hassanabdal to Havelian had been acquired. He said that work on the feasibility report of 882-kilometre rail track from Havelian (Hazara) to China was also in progress. www.dawn.com/news/1144431/wb-team-listens-to-people-affected-by-dasu-dam-project
Comments are closed.