PESHAWAR: A controversy has surrounded the acquisition of 500 kanals of land for the establishment of the main campus of the Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak over objection to the site’s selection.

The university has been functioning in a building of the revenue department since its establishment in 2012.

Sources told Dawn that the authorities were bent on using a disputed land for the campus’s establishment ignoring objections.

HEC has declared acquired land unfeasible for project, sources claim

They said the Higher Education Commission had formally declared the acquired land unfeasible for the Rs4.354 billion project.

The sources said the HEC was reluctant to release funds for the project even after the approval of the federal Public Sector Development Programme.

They said land for the university’s main campus had been acquired near the Jail Chowk outside Karak city for which the university had already paid Rs450 million to landowners.

The sources said a seasonal watercourse (nullah), a high-power electricity transmission line and large pipeline of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited passed through the acquired land.

They said the PC-I suggested the construction of bridges, culverts and water channels over the watercourse at the cost of Rs212.45 million.

The sources said the land of the selected site was uneven and therefore, its leveling for the construction of buildings, roads and playgrounds would escalate the project cost.

They said in 2012, a committee formed by the provincial government had selected two different sites for the establishment of the Khushal Khan Khattak University.

The sources said the committee’s first priority was to acquire land in the surroundings of the revenue building in which the university had been functioning since 2012, while the second site was located near the Jail Chowk.

They said despite the HEC’s objections, the site selection committee yielded to the ‘pressure’ of the local influential politicians and preferred the first site to the second one.

The sources said when the PTI took over in 2013, the then chief minister, Pervez Khattak, had tasked another committee consisting of HEC and HED officials with selecting the site.

They added that the committee selected a third site in Tabbi Khwa area, which was formally approved by the chief minister afterwards.

The sources, however, said the local politicians stepped in and ‘stopped’ the government using their influence from acquiring the third site though it was considered to be better for the project than the others.

They said the selection of the Tabbi Khwa site would save the university Rs220 million for the construction of bridges, culverts and water channels over the watercourse.

They said the university’s administration had also paid for the land of the watercourse.

A resident insisted that there was no issue of land in Karak as most area was barren and rugged.

He said the disputed land had been selected to serve the ends of local influential people otherwise the university could acquire land along the Indus Highway at a much lower price.

When contacted, Vice-Chancellor of the Khushal Khan Khattak University Prof Jehan Bakht said he was not part of the land acquisition and payment exercise.

“The process of land acquisition was completed before my appointment as the VC,” he said.

The VC said PC-I for the university’s campus had been submitted to the planning and development department for approval.

He said the plan was in the final stages of approval as several meeting had been held on it.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2018