MANSEHR A: The future of New Balakot City Housing Project being developed for the settlement of residents of red zone Balakot is uncertain as the provincial government has yet to get evacuated 86 percent of land acquired for the Rs13 billion project despite payment of compensation to almost alllandowners.

`The government has been striving for early completion of work on the project but cases of 377 landowners of Bakrial, where the New Balakot City is being developed, are pending with the apex and subordinate courts and therefore, the project is facing delay,` deputy commissioner Aamir Khattak told Dawn.

The New Balakot City Housing Project was inaugurated in July 2007 by then president Pervez Musharraf but only 20 percent work has been completed in the last eight years.According to Khattak, 86 cases of Bakrial landowners are in different stages of litigation at the Peshawar High Court in Peshawar and Abbottabad circuit bench, while 291 cases are being heard by subordinate courts in the district.

`Our legal team is efficient in pursuing cases at courts but without disposal of over 377 cases by high court and lower courts, we cannot go ahead with the project,` he said.

The Earthqualce Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Erra) insists the project will be completed in two years if the provincial government gets the land evacuated.

`We have paid Rs1.5 billion to landowners but even then, we could get only 16 percent of 1,2000 kanals to be acquired for the project,` said project director Abrar Ismail.

He said owing to unavailability at the site, the projects launched by foreigners including Libyans were scrapped as a result of which the Erra squeezed green belts and grounds to meet the cost.

Ismail said initially, the project`s cost was Rs13.5 billion but it could increase.

`We have handed over almost 1,500 plots to the district government for allotment to earthquake survivors from zone areas of Balakot, Garlat and Ghanool,` he said.Ismail said the NBC hosting project was planned in 2006 and launched in 2007 af ter international geologists and seismologists declared Balakot highly dangerous for human living saying 16 active volcanic lines are passing under it.

However, over 5,000 families of Balakot red zone have still been living in the small makeshift shelters provided by Saudi Arabia government.

Earthquake survivor Mohammad Javed said, `our dreams about the Balakot city project are almost dead as neither federal nor provincial government is sincere about removing hurdles to its completion.

RECONSTRUCTED: The Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority has reconstructed 75 percent of the infrastructure destroyed in Mansehra districts in the 2005 earthquake.

Mansehra was the worst hit district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Oct 8, 2005 earthquake, where 70 percent of the infrastructure in five affected districts were grounded. In Balakot, over 30,000 people lost life and the city turned into ruins in the calamity.

A `summery sheet of reconstruction` issued on the 10th anniversary of the earthquake showed that Erra had yet to reconstruct 25 percent of the infrastructure destroyed in the earthquake, in 10 sectors,including those of health and education.

A total of 2698 buildings were destroyed in the earthquake in 10 sectors and 2,033 buildings have been reconstructed until now.

In health sector, 1,214 educational institutions were destroyed and 777 has been rebuilt, while in environment sector, 194 buildings were destroyed and 89 of them st and reconstructe d.

In governance sector, 112 buildings were destroyed and reconstruction of 88 has been carried out.

In health sector, 43 health facilities including hospitals were destroyed and 27 of them have been reconstructed, while in livelihood sector, 226 of the 280 destroyed buildings have been rebuilt.

In medical rehabilitation sector, two buildings were destroyed and both have been rebuilt.

In power sector, three buildings were destroyed and reconstruction of only one has been done.

In social protection sector, two buildings were destroyed but work on them has yet to begin.

In transport sector, 57 buildings and facilities were destroyed and 16 of them have been reconstructed, while in water and sanitation sector, reconstruction of 782 of the 791 destroyed buildings has been done.