MANSEHRA: The landowners affected by Dasu hydropower project have threatened to stop work on the scheme forcibly and block Karakoram Highway for indefinite period.

They asked Wapda authorities to stop work on the project after deputy commissioner told them that he couldn’t increase price of their land.

“Whatever price of your land is fixed by the recently transferred deputy commissioner is appropriate and in accordance with the market price. If you are not accepting the prices, then go to court of law as I cannot increase the already fixed price,” Deputy Commissioner Zafarul Islam told the landowners and elders of the area on Monday.

The landowners, living on both east and west sides of the Indus Rive, met with the deputy commissioner at his office and informed him about their decision of not accepting the price fixed by the district administration for their lands, affected by the project.

Say govt has fixed price of land very low

According to sources, the district administration has divided the land into three categories.

The price of land falling in category-A has been fixed at Rs1 million per kanal, category-B Rs0.7 million and category-C Rs0.2 million per kanal.

Mr Islam asked the landowners to move court if they were not ready to accept the price as it was appropriate and even higher than the market rate.

He said that it was a project of national interest and would also benefit the people of Kohistan.

“You should not only think of prices but see how much benefits you and your children would get from this project as thousands of jobs will be created besides huge financial activities in the district, which tops backward districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Mr Islam.

Umer Khan, Shamsur Rehman and Haji Fazlur Rehman, who represented the landowners on western side of the Indus River, and Qari Mohammad Saeed and Manan Shah, who represented the people on eastern side of the river, said that they would not sell out their land to Wapda for construction of dam as government had fixed its price very low.

“We would never accept the price fixed by district administration. We will move court and will not allow officials of Wapda to work on our land,” said Manan Sha.

After failure of their talks with the deputy commissioner, the landowners held a jirga to decide future line of action.

They said that they would not allow Wapda to work on their land until their just demands were met.

“We would not allow Wapda to execute the project until our charter of demands, which was accepted at the time of start of work on the project, is accepted and mutually singed,” said Mr Saeed.

He said that government should fix the prices of their land in accordance with the market value. He said that they would never accept the price fixed by the district administration.

Speaking on occasion Mr Shams said that if government could not pay them a reasonable price of their land then it should scrap the plan of the dam.

On June 25 this year, Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif had inaugurated Dasu hydropower project after Executive Committee of National Economic Council in its meeting held in Islamabad on March 28 approved Rs486 billion for the first phase of the project.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014