Residents deny giving land for power project

MANSEHRA: The residents of Saungar area of Balakot have refused to give land for 300-megawatt hydropower project if the government didn’t give them the market price.

“The district administration has imposed Section 4 for the acquisition of land without taking us into confidence and if it goes ahead with its plan, we would resist as we have not been offered market price for our agricultural and houses,” Naeem Ashraf Durrani told a news conference in Balakot on Wednesday. The residents led by Durrani said that they didn’t leave their villages after the 2005 devastating earthquake and would follow suit if they were not offered prices for their land, trees and houses as given to landowners for such projects being executed in other parts of Hazara division.

He said that hundreds of families would be displaced and deprived of their agriculture land and houses but the government should adopt a practical approach before going to launch the hydropower project.

“We want to make it clear to the government that it should take the local people into confidence before going to launch this energy project,” he added.