Transfer sparks controversy

GILGIT: A controversy is brewing up over funding of compensation to those affected by construction of Diamer- Bhasha dam. With over Rs50 billion disbursed so far, district administration is being accused of depositing the funds in private banks, instead of official Nation al Bank (NBP), with the intention of maximising interest. The allegation has been rejected by concerned officials. It was claimed that despite Ministry of Water and Power deirectives against the practice, district administration has deposited compensation funds in private banks, delaying its disbursement to pocket interest on billions of rupees. According to the Ministry, compensation is being paid to affectees from a loan and it must be kept in a profitable account at NBP to facilitate the government to pay the mark-up to institutions it  borrowed money from. Administration has been keeping funds in private banks despite the fact that people frequently hold demonstrations in Diamer in protest against non-payment of compensation for their land being affected by the project. Sarzameen Khan, a National Assembly member from Kohistan, described it as `fraudulent and unlawful tactics` of Diamer administration and said the matter would be taken up in assembly’s next session. He said, different tribes in Diamer were fighting each other because of issues related to the land being affected and they were being deprived of their rights by the administration. `There are reports that Deputy Commissioner’s office is always crowded by employees of private banks,` he said. He suggested forming a parliamentary committee to investigate the matter besides auditing project’s accounts. It`s unfortunate that vested interests are playing with the $14bn project, he added. When contacted, a spokesman for Gilgit Baltistan government said that the compensation amount, running into billions, had been shifted to private banks on public demand. He said private banks had provided jobs to over 200 local youths, adding that the district administration had used the interest on development projects. The spokesman said that over Rs50bn had been paid to affected people. Despite that Rs7-8bn are lying in private banks which would be used to pay compensation after land disputes among tribes were settled. He said keeping a huge amount in NBP was not as profitable as in private banks and added that interest on the amount was solely used for public interest projects.