Land ownership: Gwadar locals promised housing schemes

Rs1 billion released for Shadi Kaur Dam’s completion

QUETTA:

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik vowed that those involved in the Gwadar land scams would not be pardoned and they would be brought to justice for their disposal of state land on the Baloch coast.

Speaking at a function organised to distribute proprietary right to the residents of Shambay Ismail, he said that the government would soon initiate a number of residential schemes for locals.

He said that residents of Shambay Ismail were waiting for proprietary rights for many decades. “I remember when we used to enter Gwadar township riding on camel to cross the desert surrounding the locality,” he said.  He said that his party had fulfilled the promise to grant residents ownership rights to their land. He thanked the chief secretary and the senior member of the Board of Revenue for enabling the government to distribute these rights to the people.

Dr Malik Baloch discussed the development of Gwadar and the provision of clean drinking water here through a number of development schemes in the water sector. He said the government had released Rs500 million for laying water pipelines for the city.

The chief minister said the government had also released Rs1 billion to complete the Shadi Kaur Dam near Pasni. The dredging work on the Pasni Fish Harbour would start soon. He claimed that funds for Pasni Fish Harbour were usurped by ‘corrupt elements’ and the government plans to complete the dredging of the navigational channel.

Dr Malik conceded that his government could not succeed in completely curbing illegal fishing and trawling on the Baloch coast. He said the provincial government is also attending to the problem of soil erosion in the coastal belt, saying there has been substantial progress against soil erosion in Jiwani and Pishokan areas.

The CM said it was a priority to establish a girls’ college in Gwadar. “By cooperating with each other, we can serve the general public significantly,” he said. He warned the absconding public servants, including teachers and doctors, that they would face severe action without any discrimination. The CM pledged to allot residential plots to fishermen and others in Gwadar. He said the government would announce residential schemes for all the four tehsils of Gwadar.

He announced a cash grant of Rs1 million for Gwadar Municipality. He also pledged to make the GDA Hospital operational soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2014.