Addresses Save River Committee’s sit-in in capital city,
MUZAFFARABAD: (Parliament Times) The AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan says agreement between AJK government and private company would be signed before kicking off Kuhala hydropower project.
Addressing to protest sit in of Save the River committee here on Monday he said the Kuhala project would be constructed by a private company after proper agreement with it. We want to make government of Pakistan guarantor of it, he added. He assured that he would not compromise on the rights of the people of Muzaffarabad. He asked the Save the River committee to repose confidence in him on protection of their rights.
Mr. Haider said Prime Minister Imran Khan government was well aware of the environmental issue of Muzaffarabad. He said he believes that federal government would resolve this issue on priority. Kuhala project would be property of AJK government after 25 years, he stated.
The Premier said great water supply scheme is being started keeping in view the 100 years’ needs of water for residents of Muzaffarabad. He said he was being accused that he paid you money to launch Save the River protests or that he was part of your struggle. He said who say so should feel shamed of. He asked the protesting committee to end their protests assuring that he would spare no effort to save their rights and was already representing them for their demands. He also urged them to call off the April 16 protest to enable him to be in a better position to talk on this issue.
The prime minister said development process in AJK was underway. He said it was responsibility of government to address the people’s reservations on mega development projects. We are talking to federal government and things are moving forward positively, he remarked. Resolving environment problems was essential for which government would pool all its resources, he explained. The head of save the committee Amjad Ali Khan, assured that the committee members would consult on it and formulate a definite strategy on it after consultation.
