MANSEHRA, May 24: The NWFP government has asked the district revenue department to acquire land at market price for establishing the ‘new Balakot city’. It has already transferred Rs1.48 billion to the district government for the purpose, official sources told Dawn on Thursday.

The directive was issued by the provincial government after landowners in Dodhal and Mungan refused to sell their land on the rates offered by the revenue department and staged a demonstration to protest against the move.

The sources said that in view of the situation, the Mansehra Revenue Department had sent a summary to the chief minister through the Director-General of the Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Perra) and apprised the government of the on-going protests.

After receiving the summary, the chief minister held a meeting. The meeting approved markets rates for the acquisition of land for the new city.

Besides the chief minister, the meeting was attended by NWFP chief secretary, additional secretary and Perra director-general, and sanctioned different rates for lands in different areas.

The naib tehsildar and in-charge of the land acquisition for the new city, Mr Jawed Hussain, told Dawn that the city would be built on 15,600 kanals and payment of money to landowners for the purpose would soon begin.

He said that 4,160 kanals of land of the forest department had already been acquired by Perra for the purpose and the remaining 11,439 kanals of land would be acquired from landowners of Mungan, Dodhal Argshal and Dodhal Malkan.

He said that rates of the land being acquired for the purpose differed in different areas.

Giving details, he said, the maximum rate in the Dodhal Argshal area for 1kanal of land was Rs180,000 while the minimum rate was Rs80,000.

In Dodhal Malkan area, he said, the maximum rate for one kanal of land was Rs180000 and the minimum rate was Rs130000. In Mungan area, the maximum rate was Rs100000 and the minimum rate was Rs50000.

He said the government would pay compensation for the demolished homes in these areas and Rs562 million had been earmarked for the purpose.

He said the compensation amount for trees either of fruit or fruitless would be paid to landowners and Rs480 million had been sanctioned for it.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf had laid the foundation-stone of the new city on May 21, and the city would cost the government Rs13.5 billion.