MANSEHRA: The Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority has finalised the letters of allotment of over 1,000 plots in the New Balakot City Housing Project and will distribute them to the 2005 earthquake surviving families from the Balakot red zone next week.

“Chief Minister Pervez Khattak will give away the plot allotment letters to 1,050 families here next week,” Balakot tehsil nazim Ibrahim Shah told reporters after attending a meeting chaired by deputy commissioner Ayaz Khan here on Thursday. The meeting was also attended by a representative of earthquake survivors Saith Matiullah and officials of the relevant departments and Erra.

The participants expressed satisfaction with the progress on the New Balakot City Housing Project.

The nazim told reporters that the Erra would give away plots to over 3,600 survivor families in the Rs13 billion housing scheme. The foundation stone for the scheme was laid in 2007 by then military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

Though scheduled to complete in 2012, work on it got delayed due to the hurdles created by landowners.

CRACKDOWN PLANNED: The district administration has planned a crackdown on the CNG stations overcharging motorists. “The government has not notified any increase in CNG price and therefore, strict action will be initiated against the CNG station owners, who have increased the gas price on their own,” deputy commissioner Ayaz Khan told transporters, who called on him in his office on Thursday.

The DC warned that the filling stations overcharging visitors could be sealed.

The visitors led by Jan Alam that only Mansehra’s CNG stations had increased gas price and that the filling stations operating in other parts of the province, including Hazara division, continued to charge the old gas rate. Earlier, the transporters and transport drivers met at Larri Adda and warned they would observe a wheel jam strike if increase in CNG price wasn’t withdrawn.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2018