Reclaiming land: Efforts under way to strip Naran of encroachments

Balakot assistant commissioner says next phase to begin on Bypass Road

NARAN: Civic authorities have removed extended portions of at least 30 houses and hotels on Saiful Malook Road in Naran in order to reclaim government-owned land, Balakot Assistant Commissioner Shahid Mehmood told The Express Tribune on Friday.

Mehmood, who spearheaded the operation, said the encroachment drive was carried out last month on the directives of the provincial government. He said property owners violating people’s right to way were initially served notices asking them to either voluntarily remove the extended structures or face demolition and resultant humiliation. He added the structures of houses and hotels included two to three rooms, boundary walls and sheds that owners had constructed during the last five years.

After the expiration of one month’s deadline, heavy machinery was moved to Saiful Malook Road with assistance from the Communication and Works Department and the police. All marked cemented and ‘kacha’ structures built illegally were demolished, said Mehmood, adding there was hardly any resistance from encroachers because all legal requirements were fulfilled.

According to the assistant commissioner, five to 12 feet of state-owned land, worth millions, was reclaimed.

He said the next phase of the drive will begin next week on Naran Bypass Road. Over 20 shopkeepers and eatery owners allegedly occupying government land measuring three to 10 feet by constructing cemented structures have been served notices, but none have voluntarily removed the encroachments, said Mehmood. Authorities will now move to demolish the structures when the deadline to take them down voluntarily expires next week.

The assistant commissioner said efforts were under way to clear roads and thoroughfares from both temporary and permanent encroachments without discrimination so as to attract more tourists to the valley.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2014.