Rawalpindi: Land acquisition issue of Gorakhpur Sewerage Treatmentment Plant resolved

[Naveed Yaseen]

ADB sets August 15 deadline for paying compensation to affectees

Saeed Ahmed
The issue regarding acquisition of land in Gorakhpur for laying Sewerage Treatment Plan (STP) has finally been resolved.

Moreover, the Asian Development Bank has agreed allowing the concerned provincial government and the Project Management Unit (PMU) in Rawalpindi Development Authority to release the fund for paying compensation to the affected people of the Rawalpindi Environment Improvement Plan by 15th of the current month.

Project Director of the Project Management Unit A A Sabzwari told ‘The News’ here Friday that the ADB would now release the fund for the components of REIP which include laying of STP in Gorakhpur. He said that the compensation to the affectees would be paid by August 15. Thereafter, the PMU would invite the consultants of the international firms to make design and planning of the component. The work on the project would start sometime in November, he said.

It worth mentioning here that the Punjab government has reappointed A A Sabzwari as Project Director of PMU after removing him some 18 months back replacing Brigadier ® Shahrukh Lodhi in his place. However, with the change of the government, A A Sabzwari has been reappointed on this post recently.

Similarly, the ADB mission in April had warned the PMU and the Punjab government to stop funding on the project if they fail to release the payment of compensation to the affectees. The ADB had then given deadline of July 15. However, with the intervention of the Federal government, the matter of payment of compensation has been settled down.

The ADB mission had time and again expressed concern over the slow pace of work on the project since it was launched in February 2005. The main hurdle in the way of the project had remained the resistance by the affectees and payment of compensation for the affected property. Since then, the PMU has failed to acquire the land for laying the treatment plant.

To a question, Sabzwari said that work on remaining components has almost been completed like installation of tube-wells, replacement of old sewerage pipelines, and laying of sewerage pipelines in all the union councils. This work would be completed by the end of the next fiscal year, he assured.

However, the members of the Affectees Association had another version over the matter of the compensation. The members which were more than a dozen in number and interviewed during visit of the site by this correspondent warned of resistance if the Punjab government fails to pay compensation according to the present price of their land and property. “We would not allow the concerned authorities to implement the component of the project if proper and appropriate amount is not paid to us against our property,” they vowed.