17 years on, NHA yet to pay Babusar Top road affectees

Despite imposition of Section 4 for forced acquisition of land, NHA did not pay the people

ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority (NHA) has not paid the affectees of the Naran-Kaghan-Babusar Top road 17 years past the land acquisition, the Senate Standing Committee on Communication was informed during its meeting on Thursday.

The Senate panel met at Parliament House under the chair of Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, in which the member of the committee has brought into the notice of the chairman that NHA has not paid the landowners evicted for the construction of road on Kaghan Babusar Top despite the passage of 17 years.

Senator Salahuddin Tirmizi has informed the standing committee regarding the attitude of the National Highway Authority. The locals had shown great cooperation with the authority during the construction and federal government had allocated Rs3.2 billion for the project.

The federal government had released a sum of Rs1.6 billion for the land acquisition process, the NHA acquired 1,698 kanals, Senator Tirmizi said.

The government imposed Section 4 for forced acquisition of land and set Rs0.274 million per kanal, but still they did not pay the people, he said.

Committee Chairman Bahramand Khan told NHA to sort out the matter within a month.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2019.