SKARDU, Oct 29: The residents of a village on the Sadpara lake have alleged that the local revenue department was intending to give compensation of their ancestral pasture land being affected by the under-construction multi-purpose Sadpara dam to their favourites, showing backdated allotment.

In a joint statement issued here, the notables of Sngiu Ranga said the suburban areas of Sadpara lake were owned by them and they had been regularly paying pasture tax to the government since the creation of Pakistan, which was later subsidised when the late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced reforms for farmers in the country.

They added that even the then political agent of Skardu had acceded the ownership rights of the pasture land to the village in 1965, when the forest department started planting saplings on the land. The local people had moved the political agent against the forest department. The political agent had ordered the forest department to remove their planted saplings and issued decree in favour of the people.

They said: “Soon after President Gen Pervez Musharraf approved construction of Sadpara dam, the lower staff of the revenue department started allotment of the land situated on the banks of Sadpara lake to their favourite people from back dates and have a plan to give billions of rupees as compensation to their favourites.

The inhabitants of Sngiu Ranga maintained that the mountain pastures had already been distributed among the surrounding villages and their demarcation made by the settlement department.

These illegal allotments should be cancelled, they contended.

They further said that according to the settlement rule 1978, pastures, graveyards and grounds “cannot be allotted to a person, firm or group”. But the staff of revenue department in violation of rules were making allotment of these lands to their “favourites” which was unjust to the local people, they added.

The notables of Sngiu Ranga said the Sadpara dam was being constructed for the benefit of the people of Skardu and its localities but not at the cost of the interests of the local people.

They maintained that the compensation of the their pasture land being affected by the dam, “should not be given to some one else”.

The residents of Sngiu Ranga have demanded of the chief executive of the Northern Areas, the force commander and the chief secretary to take prompt action against the corrupt staff and officials of the revenue department and a judicial inquiry be initiated into the matter before paying compensation of the said land to any person.