MIANWALI, May 28: Houses are being demolished, decades-old paths blocked, water supplies terminated and private lands encroached in Mauza Thamewali, 35 kilometres from Mianwali, Dawn has learnt.

This all is being done in the name of a `defence project’ carried out by a powerful ministry and helpless residents find no forum to get their grievances resolved.

The plight of the residents dates back to 2005 when some representatives of the ministry came to mauza Thamewali and asked land owners to sell their lands in the salt range mountains for an important project. Reluctant to sell their inherited property, locals first refused to strike deals with the ministry representatives who wanted to buy over 2700 acres.

The representatives employed stick and carrot tactics and warned the people if they did not negotiate with them, the government would forcibly acquire the land. Locals made a committee to talk to the people and agreed to a settlement to transfer their lands to the ministry against Rs4,000, Rs7,000 and Rs12,000 per kanal of the mountainous, barren and cultivable lands. Under the verbal agreement, the ministry agreed that it would not disturb pipelines supplying water from a perennial spring in the mountains and old passages in the lands would not be blocked. The ministry offered lucrative jobs to the locals when the project would be launched.

After the agreements, residents transferred their lands, measuring 22,000 acres, to the ministry in 2006.

At the start of 2007, civil works organisation officials arrived in the area and started work on the project. They barbed the bought land thus blocking local residents’ access to other parts of the area. During the process, they contravened all terms and conditions agreed upon by the ministry and land owners. They started demolishing the existing water supply structure, blocked passages to other lands lying across the mountain, encroached private lands to construct roads leading to their installations. The spring is the only source of drinking water for the people.

The affected people got stay orders from the civil court which the ministry staff flouted and continued occupying the area.

Dawn visited Mauza Thamewali on May 26 and saw the construction of roads were in progress. Over a dozen houses were demolished and crops destroyed.

Security officials stopped the correspondent from meeting any responsible officer of the project to know his version.

Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, former union council nazim and member of the negotiation committee, criticised the officials for what he said encroaching and demolishing the settlements of poor farmers. He demanded the ministry limit its work to its purchased land.

Executive District Officer (Revenue) Syed Ali Ausat Shah says that ministry staff were not authorised to encroach upon the land not bought by them. He said he had sent revenue staff to get information to ascertain if the ministry had encroached upon the lands of the local owners.

Local residents await a messiah to save their houses and lands from the defense authorities.

“Where I could find justice against the powerful?” says Muhammad Bashir, a daily wager. His house has been demolished and his family, consisting of six people, has been living under the open for the last several days. He says he has no defence against a powerful ministry.