HARIPUR, May 16: Rejecting the compensation package announced by the federal government for the victims of Tarbela dam project, Smaji Tanzeem Bara-i-Motasreen-i-Tarbela Dam (social organisation for dam victims) President Muhammad Ajaz Khan has demanded payment on the format of 1967 package.

The federal government had given Rs168 million out of the total Rs219.9 million to the district government for the disbursement.

Out of this amount, Rs146 million will be paid at the rate of Rs107,500 per person to those 1,359 people belonging to district Haripur who has not received agriculture land in Sindh or other provinces against their claims.

While Rs3.86 million was earmarked for the 40 victims who had deposited money in advance for the allotment of residential plots, but failed to receive the same.  

Speaking to Dawn, Ajaz said that having born the agony of a long wait of over three decades, this package for the victims was mere peanuts.

He said that when a large population of over 300 villages was being displaced from the dam project site, the then government agreed on giving 100 kanal against each four kanal of the irrigated land or 16 kanal of the non-irrigated land.

The government had also promised to allot 30,000 kanal of land in Punjab and Sindh against the lost portion of land, but the victims were given land only in Punjab.

He regretted that after the lapse of even three decades, the government and executing agency had failed to compensate the damages.