MUZAFFARABAD, March 21: Payment of compensation to the families affected by the construction of the Mangla Dam would begin this month under a relief package announced by the federal government for those affected by the construction and proposed raising of the dam , an official said on Sunday.

AJK Board of Revenue Senior Member Raja Farooq Niaz said the payment would begin in Mirpur on March 30 at a function likely to be attended by Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat and Federal Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.

He said around 7,000 families that owned half acre or more of land submerged during the dam's construction in the 1960s had qualified for the allotment of alternative land in Punjab or Sindh but they could not get the possession.

The federal government has announced the package after deciding to raise the height of the dam, which would lead to more families being displaced. It includes the payment of Rs200,000 to each affected family of the original project. The centre had also taken the responsibility to ensure that Punjab and Sindh granted proprietary rights to the families, Mr Niaz said.