MANSEHRA: The survivors of the Oct 2005 earthquake in Balakot Red Zone will get the documents of the allotment of New Balakot City plots on April 3.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly`s standing committee on rehabilitation and settlement has asked the district administration for the early preparation of those documents.

The administration has also been told to act against the people occupying their land in the New Balakot City despite getting due payments.

`The standing committee members will hand over the plot allotment papers to the residents of Balakot Red Zone on April 3. The district administration will get hold of the land f rom illegal occupants by force,` Balakot tehsilnazim Rustam Khan told reporters here on Friday.

The New Balakot City project is meant to settle the survivors of the 2005 earthquake at the cost of Rs13 billion.

The nazim said the standing committee, which met on Friday with of ficials of all relevant departments and agencies in attendance, decided that the owners who voluntarily vacate their respective land for the project would be compensated with incentives including a plot in the New Balakot City, but those challenging the writ of the government in this respect would be dealt with strictly and that they would be denied all incentives.

He said the landowners unwilling to vacant land despite receiving due payments would face a crackdown.

Mr Rustam said most landowners had voluntarily agreed to of fer land for the project, while the rest would be dealt with in line with the committee`s directions.

He said the district administration would prepare plot allotment papers to be given away to around 4,000 families by April 3.

The nazim said the plots measured sevenmarlas, 10 marlas, 15 marlas and one kanal.

Last month, the Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority`s district reconstruction unit had served notices on the illegal occupants of the land them to vacate by Feb 28 to prevent crackdown.

NAZIM QUITS: Abdul Qadir of the JUI-F has resigned as the nazim of Judbah tehsil in Torghar district.

The development comes in line with an agreement made by the ruling party`s councillors under which Abdul Qadir was to serve as nazim for one year, Mohammad Khan for the next year and another council member for the next two years.

Abdul Qadir was bound to resign in November last year but he didn`t do so.

He was recently persuaded by the party leaders to comply with the agreement and therefore, he submitted his resignation to council convener Maulana Shah Zameen on Friday.

Under the Local Government Act 2013, the resignation will be sent to the chief minister for approval and once that happens, the Election Commission will announce issue schedule for the election of the new nazim.