MUZAFFARABAD, July 21: A civic body head on Sunday warned the federal government of “fierce resistance and protests” by the Kashmiris if the role of the Chinese companies in reconstruction of the quake ravaged Azad Kashmir capital was scrapped.

Zahid Amin, chairman Development Authority Muzaffarabad (DAM), made a passionate appeal to the president and prime minister of Pakistan to take cognizance of the sensitive issue for the satisfaction of the people pledged reconstruction of their areas on the basis of “built back better.”

He also warned that the people of Muzaffarabad would not allow groundbreaking of any project initiated after shelving or retrenching the Chinese funded Muzaffarabad City Development Project (MCDP).

“The president and prime minister should take stock of the elements hell bent upon scrapping the role of Chinese companies in reconstruction of Muzaffarabad,” Mr Amin said at a news conference.

He claimed that the Chinese companies had almost been eliminated from a working paper for the meeting of Erra Council likely to be held on July 23. A “favourable atmosphere” was being created to obtain Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s approval for the same, he said.

The Erra, Mr Amin said, was trying to make a point that it could initiate priority projects from Rs5-6 billion and would arrange the remaining required amount from the donors afterwards.

“This is a great injustice to the people of Muzaffarabad and will not be tolerated,” he said.

He recalled that the federal government had announced on February 20, 2006, amid salutations by quake survivors, that Muzaffarabad would be rebuilt better than the past through a soft loan pledged by China.

Giving a chronology of developments in this regard, he said that on November 8, 2006, Erra asked DAM to identify and prepare projects on the basis of the survey conducted in Muzaffarabad by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Working on 94 projects was jointly done and completed in July 2007 by DAM, AJK Planning and Development department, Central Design Office and State Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (Serra), he said, adding these projects were subsequently approved by the AJK government and later by Erra’s (former) deputy chairman.

These projects, which Erra had shown in its several presentations, were discussed at 10-corps headquarters in February this year, he said, but regretted that at the recent meeting of Federal Planning Commission the Erra officials had described most of these projects as “unjustified and liable to reappraisal.”

He also recalled that on August 30, 2007 Erra asked DAM to facilitate the Chinese companies, which had mobilised some of their staff to Muzaffarabad two weeks ago, in carrying out basic survey work on projects identified on priority list and on Sept 22, 2007, it (Erra) informed that the groundbreaking ceremony of one of the projects under MCDP would be performed on Oct 8, 2007.

“It is however ironical that a strong group in Erra is now bent upon trimming the size of MCDP by scrapping the Chinese assistance,” he said.

He said the situation also proved that the delay in initiation of reconstruction work had been deliberately caused under a “well thought out plan.”

Mr Amin did not agree with a questioner that the Chinese were being taken out of the process under the US pressure. “I don’t think so. It’s being done due to internal prejudices and vindictive approach.”