Islamabad, JULY25: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) administration has been given six months by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to resolve the housing schemes on agricultural land in Charsadda and the industrial development in Swabi.
Details reveal that seven such petitions from Swabi and Charsadda locals were heard by a bench presided over by Justices Ijaz Anwar and Syed Arshad Ali. The chief secretary was given an order by the court to call a high-level conference with senior authorities, which included the director general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the secretaries of the departments of agriculture, food, and industry, and the Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR). In order to address the petitioners’ concerns, policy decisions pertaining to these matters will be discussed and approved by the provincial cabinet during this meeting.
The bench took note of the petitioners’ objections to the acquisition of their agricultural land for housing developments and industrial zones. The KP government has published a number of notifications that forbade commercial activity on agricultural property, as the court pointed out. The bench voiced concerns about the lack of appropriate control surrounding the conversion of vast tracts of agricultural land into industrial and residential projects in spite of regulatory prohibitions. Critics pointed out that there was no consistent policy on this issue and that government departments did not coordinate with one another.
The court further noted that without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) from the EPA, SIDB had issued a notification for land purchase under Section 4 of the Land purchase Act. In light of this error and the government’s laziness, has given rise to serious worries regarding the misapplication of agricultural land.
The bench recommended that the province government take advantage of the petitioners’ complaints to rectify the situation and deal with the issues at hand. Iftaullah Khan and others challenged the purchase of 15 marlas and 908 kanals of land in Swabi for an industrial estate in the petitions. They maintained that there was an abundance of suitable arid land and that a sizable section of this area was productive and fertile.
A panel headed by Attorney Ahmad Sultan Tareen had been formed by the court to examine the disputed territory. Contrary to claims, the panel found that the majority of the acquired land was productive. SIDB and additional participants defended the project, claiming it will provide employment in the area and pay impacted landowners in line with the law. Additionally, they stated that petitioners could pursue additional compensation by following the proper legal procedures.
