HARIPUR, Aug 18: There is a need to ensure provision of at least five to 10 per cent of the royalty on electricity produced at the Ghazi Barotha Dam to the Haripur district.

This was demanded by district Nazim Dr Raja Amer Zaman in a statement issued here on the occasion of the inauguration of the Ghazi Barotha Dam.

Stressing the need for amending relevant sections of the Constitution regarding payment of royalty, he also called for seeking an exemption from surcharge on electricity bills for the district.

The district Nazim appealed to President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali for granting a share in the royalty as well as exemption from the surcharge.

Justifying the demands, Dr Raja Amer Zaman maintained that a large number of people in the district have been displaced by the construction of the Ghazi Barotha, Tarbela and Khanpur dams.

He said that the displacement victims had not been paid adequate compensation while no special development packages had ever been sanctioned for the uplift of this district.