Pak-China Economic Corridor: Alteration in section of original route opposed

Locals at public hearing demand market price for land acquisition.

ISLAMABAD: Participants of a public hearing expressed serious reservations over change in a section of original route and land acquisition price being offered at a section of Pak-China Economic Corridor (PCEC), located between Rajkot and Taxila. The section stretches over an area of more than 400 kilometres.

The public hearing was organised by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) in Abbottabad on Wednesday to address environmental, social and other issues rising out of the planned construction of the PCEC.

The National Highways Authority (NHA), Pakistan and the Chinese Roads and Bridges Company, gave detailed presentations on the project.

They also highlighted some key economic features and benefits of the PCEC to both the countries, especially to the underdeveloped and remote areas of the region.

More than 100 locals from different walks of life including engineers, farmers, politicians and retired bureaucrats primarily from Hazara Division of Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa participated in the public hearing.

The NHA representatives informed the participants that China would provide technical support in construction of the mega project in addition to financial support, which would be in the form of soft loans.

Participants raised a number of objections and reservations over the construction of the PCEC.

They raised objections at the land acquisition price being offered and demanded that the price should be based on the prevailing market rates instead of Land Acquisition Act of 1884.

The participants said that the government was planning to pay them according to the average price of land in the past five years, which was not justified, as five years average rates do not commensurate with the prevailing market rates.

They also demanded that a formula for land acquisition and price mechanism similar to the one used for construction of water and hydro-power projects be adopted for the PCEC.

All participants supported the mega project, but expressed reservations that fertile lands, particularly in the Pakkhal plain, would be wiped out completely, depriving them of their only source of earning. They said that they must be compensated according to market prices instead of the land acquisition act.

The participants of the hearing also strongly opposed alteration in the original route for construction of a proposed dry port in New Balakot City near Bakriyal. They said that the change would bring about 10-kilometre difference in the original distance claiming there was no logic or rationale behind the step.

They said that this divergence from original plan would destroy their fertile agriculture lands in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2015.