New Balakot City project hanges in the balance

Former president of Mansehra district bar association Munir Hussain Lughmani, who had represented the 2005 earthquake affected people of Balakot in the Supreme Court, has said that the apex court has approved a contempt plea against the departments concerned for failing to develop the New Balakot City project.

Former chief justice Saqib Nisar had taken suo moto notice of the alleged embezzlement of $5 billion financial assistance donated by the international community for the rehabilitation of the 2005 earthquake affectees and Lughmani had represented the affected people of Balakot in the Supreme Court's suo moto case.

Lughmani has expressed hope that the apex court will serve justice to them. He said that the affected people not only wanted completion of work New Balakot City project but also on other incomplete projects in the Mansehra district.

He said hundreds of schools, hospitals, and roads still await completion and vowed that they would not let anyone deprive the public of their rightful funds. He said that that they have lost hope to the government and instead have pinned high hopes on the Supreme Court to dispense justice to the affected people.

He said that the affectees of the red zone were not begging but were demanding justice and their right to live in a safe place.

The meeting was attended by fellow social activists Haji Muhammad Tahir Khan, Muhammad Maroof Awan, former member of district council Mian Muhammad Altaf, former president of Anjuman-e-Tajiraan Javed Iqbal, former city nazim Asad Qazafi Khan, Mian Muhammad Ashraf, Faridoon Khan, Safdar Awan, Khurshid Akhtar Khan, Danish Iqbal, former councillor Amjad Hussain and others.

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Following the devastating earthquake in 2005 that had ravaged Balakot and Garlat, the area had been declared a red zone due to their location being on a fault line.

Later, the government ceased construction work in the red zone area and instead announced to develop the New Balakot City at Bakrial .

The government had allocated 15,000 kanals of land in 2007 for the project and 5,000 plots were to be allotted to the affectees of the red zone.

However, only 1,500 plots had been developed by Earth Quake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority so far. Work on the development of the housing project is yet to be started.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2021.