Academia: Khanpur’s first girls’ degree college hits a snag

Locals oppose site, landlord refuses to sell land on the proposed price.

HARIPUR:

The first ever degree college for girls in Khanpur seems to have hit a snag. The locals are not happy with the location of the institute, while the landlord is unhappy with the rate being offered to him for the college land.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Higher Education Minister Qazi Muhammad Asad Khan approved the project proposal and released around Rs4.5 million in July for the project. Soon after, former district nazim Dr Raja Amir Zaman offered 40 kanal land in Nikra Bangla village at Panj Katha for the institute.

However the local revenue authorities cancelled the agreement after Zaman refused to sell his land at the rate offered to him by the government and also because locals raised concern over construction of the college which was at some distance from central Khanpur, sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune.



The sources said Zaman became reluctant to sell the land at the rate offered and started demanding a price much higher than the market. Moreover, locals raised the concern that since the proposed site is over six kilometres from Khanpur town and has no road link, it will be too remote for students to access. As a result, the revenue department cancelled the agreement under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act.

When contacted, officials of the District Officer Revenue Haripur confirmed the agreement had been cancelled.

But a local leader of Tehrik Suba Hazara, Major (retd) Jameel Kayani, claims there is more to the story. He maintained that the land was selected only to appease Dr Zaman and his family and accused the K-P minister for higher education of corruption in the land acquisition and fund allocation process.

The Communication and Works (C&W) department has invited tenders from contractors for completion of ongoing work of the building.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2012.