MANSEHRA: The Civil Aviation Authority has selected a site in Tanawal area of Mansehra district for the construction of airport.

“As the CAA has chosen 6,000 kanals of land for the proposed airport in Tanawal area and the district administration has got the initial tranche of Rs450 million from the federal government for the project, I am optimistic that the entire exercise of acquiring land and making payments to landowners will be completed in time,” deputy commissioner Iqbal Hussain told reporters here on Friday.

The DC said the revenue department had also included the land of two more villages in the project and restricted the sale and purchase of land there.

He said the government was in the process of fulfilling formalities for land acquisition and once all that happened, payments would be made to the landowners.

Mr Hussain said the people of Tanawal had been facilitating the land acquisition and survey for the airport project.

PANEL FORMED: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led district government has constituted an 11-member core committee to address the reservations of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf about the distribution of funds under the annual development programme 2016-17 and other issues.

The development came after the PML-N parliamentary party met here with district nazim Sardar Said Ghulam in the chair on Friday.

Noted among participants were PML-N district president Zafar Mehmood and general secretary Niaz Hussain Niazi.

The meeting examined the recent verdict of the Abbottabad Circuit Bench of the Peshawar High Court to turn down the PTI petition against the alleged discrimination in the ADP funds’ distribution.

The court had allowed the local government to execute all ADP schemes using the budget approved by the district council last year.

The nazim said though the court had allowed his government to use the ADP funds, he had formed a committee to address the reservations of the PTI about their distribution and other issues.

He disagreed to the opinion of most participants to block funds of PTI councillors for hampering development schemes and said he would never deny the due rights to the opposition members.

Mr Ghulam said he was hopeful that the PTI would play due role in the people’s welfare.

He said the Prime Minister’s Secretariat had given Rs200 million to the district government for acquiring land to develop graveyards and therefore, suitable pieces of land would be acquired soon.

He said the representatives of his government would soon meet the prime minister to seek funds and that he was hopeful the meeting would deliver the goods.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2017