Land acquisition process: Mohmand admin’s jirga with Burhankhel tribe today

Jirga to finalise a price for the land, negotiate on demands


Our Correspondent December 17, 2018
Tribal areas. PHOTO: REUTERS

PESHAWAR: A Jirga of the Burhankhel tribe in Mohmand has been summoned on Monday to finalise the land acquisition process for the dam which is to be built in the tribal district.

The Jirga has been summoned by Lower Mohmand assistant commissioner with the grand confab expected to take place in Ekka Ghund.

The development was confirmed by national assembly member (MNA) Malak Anwar Taj, who hails from the Burhankhel tribe.

He added that the government intends to start work on the Mohmand Dam by April 2019, hence the Jirga was being held to finalise the land acquisition process.

The Jirga, he said, would set the price for an acre of land, adding that the government has already started the phase-wise land acquisition process.

About local demands for allowing the dam to be built, Taj said that tribesmen want the free provision of around 100 megawatts of electricity for the entire tribal district, the establishment of an industrial zone, boosting the mines and mineral industry in the tribal district, and the construction of irrigation channels and small dams to address water scarcity in the area.

On the other hand, tribesmen have expressed their concerns over the process of acquiring land and other things. They have accused the tribal district administration of keeping the tribesmen in the dark about the dam’s construction process.

Tribal elder Malak Misal Khan said that while the district administration is holding Jirgas with the Utmankhel and the Burhankhel tribes, other tribes of the district have apparently been ignored.

This shows that the admin is not sincere, Misal stated.

Meanwhile, Senator Hafiz Rashid claimed that the district administration was holding a Jirga with few youngsters while ignoring tribal elders of the region.

With Rashid hailing from Mohmand, he said that they will not agree to the proposed price since the area which the government aims to acquire has precious mines and mineral deposits. Hence, if the government aims to acquire land for the dam, they must pay a price which compensates for that.

Moreover, he also demanded the provision of free and uninterrupted power to the tribal districts, irrigation of their lands and employment of locals as non-technical staff to work on the dam.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2018.

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