Police launch crackdown against occupants of land

New Balakot City

MANSEHRA: The police have launched a crackdown against wners occupying the land already acquired for New Balakot City, being development for settlement of families who survived the 2005 earthquake.

"We have arrested 36 occupants and shifted them to Bannu Prison. The crackdown will continue till all those creating problems in smooth execution of the project are arrested," Superintendent of Police Mansehra Arif Javed told a news conference here on Friday.

The district administration in the light of a decision taken by the provincial assembly standing committee had issued notices to illegal occupants of the site to vacate the land and houses before March 28. The estimated cost of the project is Rs12 billion.

Arif Javed said that following the launch of the crackdown, the residents approached the deputy commissioner and assured him of their cooperation in resuming the work at the site and vacating their land and houses that were still in their possession despite receiving money.

He said a crackdown was started earlier on a tip-off that some of the illegal occupants were dumping the arms and ammunition to put up the resistance. The official said almost 400 families were occupying land despite having received the amount.

He said the site of New Balakot City, situated in Bakrial, would be handed over to Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority for resuming the development work on the project, which was suspended in 2011.

The de-seated MPA from Balakot, Mian Ziaur Rehman, raised the issue of delay in execution of the project in the provincial assembly last year when he was the legislator. The speaker referred the matter to the assembly's standing committee on housing.

The committee last month decided to allot plots of land to survivor families on April 3 this year. The district administration has also been finalising allotment documents, which would be given to the quake survivors in a couple of days.