No progress on New Balakot city as quake jolts area again

ISLAMABAD: While another earthquake jolted Pakistan on Monday amid warnings of the Pakistan Metrological Department that tremors of six plus intensity are becoming frequent, there is no progress on developing the New Balakot city while the old one demolished in the 2005 earthquake is situated on the fault line. Several meetings between the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government in the last five years have failed to make any headway. While Rs1.5 billion compensation of the land for the new city has been paid to the owners, the authorities have failed to acquire the designated land.
A study conducted by international experts had identified 11 cities in Pakistan that are situated on the faultline and thus vulnerable to mass-scale devastation in the event of high-intensity earthquake. Balakot is included among them. Other areas on the faultline are Chitral, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Quetta, Ziarat, Pishin, Bostan and Muslim Bagh.
Of these cities, Muzaffarabad had suffered severe devastation due to the October 2005’s earthquake, Balakot was almost razed to theground then. The federal government had decided to rebuild the New Balakot city to avoid such a colossal loss in the future and the contract was awarded in 2007 with the target of completion by 2010.
Now, when half of the 2015 has also passed, there is no major progress in sight giving credence to speculations that the project may not completed even in the next five years due to political reasons.
While the contractor company is suffering huge financial losses due to the inordinate delays, the residents are exposed to recurrence of earthquakes.
As the execution of the project started, the first challenge was to purchase land for the site of the new city located 20-kilometers away at a safer place from the existing location. Earthquake-proof buildings were to be constructed. The amount of Rs1.5 billion allocated for buying land was handed over to the KP government in 2008 that disbursed the money to the owners but failed in acquiring the land from them. The ERRA that is dealing on behalf of the federal government launched an operation to get the land vacated in September 2009 and met stiff resistance in the shape of attacks. The retaliation from the government machinery then left three persons injured and one dead.
The efforts resumed in October 2010 that received little success as only 14 percent land could be cleared. The new city is divided in five sectors, from A to E. The area allocated for the sectors A, B and E is still under the occupation of the landlords who had received money but are reluctant to hand over their lands.
A blame-game is going on between the federal and the provincial government on the failure to vacate the area. The ERRA complains against the lack of cooperation from the KP government for vacating the land as it has to be done through the police force. Around a dozen high-level meetings have been held in vain to sort out the issues plaguing the progress on this project.
Disappointed by the government, many residents have reconstructed their houses in the old city. While the building codes were introduced for strict implementation in the vulnerable areas, they are being violated with impunity. Development funds are also being invested in the old city for setting up schools and hospitals instead of focusing on the new city.
Regardless who is the prime culprit in delaying this project, the lack of political will is exposing the residents of this area to another tragic-like situation.
According to the analysis of Pakistan Meteorological Department, earthquakes have become frequent in the current decade. “Major earthquakes of six plus intensity are on an increase,” Dr. Ghulam Rasool, DG PMD, told The News. Only the time will tell whether the authorities wake up to the challenges as earthquakes can’t be predicted.