After 5-year legal battle: NHA court win means traveller convenience

Authority regains possession of M-1 motorway’s rest area hitherto devoid of facilities

ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority [NHA] has regained possession of the Swabi Rest Area on the M-1 motorway connecting Peshawar to Islamabad–Rawalpindi after winning a five-year long legal battle against a private construction company.

The NHA will start the tender process for the construction of the much-needed rest area within two to three months.

According to sources, following the court's decision, the NHA’s administration wing, headed by Ali Sher Mehsud, immediately took possession of the rest area with the help of district administration and police. An FIR has been lodged at Swabi police station against 19 employees of Petroson Engineering on account of illegal occupation.

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Sharing details with The Express Tribune, a senior NHA official, who wished not to be named, said back in 2012, the NHA had an agreement with Petroson Engineering to construct a rest area to facilitate commuters along the M-1 motorway.

“The proposed rest area was designed to offer all sorts of facilities like tuck shop, mosque, fuel station, workshop and ladies and gents toilets to the travellers,” he said.

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However, the company failed to implement the construction plan as per the agreement due to which NHA Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar had to terminate the agreement. Petroson Engineering managed to get a stay order against the termination of the contract, he said.

“After a hard-fought legal battle, the NHA finally succeeded when the Civil Court, Swabi vacated the stay order and termed the occupation of the land by the company illegal,” said the official.

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When contacted NHA spokesperson Kashif Zaman said, “Currently 151 kilo metres, 6-lane Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, which was inaugurated in 2007, lacks proper rest areas due to which people travelling on it, face immense difficulties.”

He said officially M-1 has two full-fledged rest areas, one in Swabi and the other near Indus River. “The same private construction company has also illegally occupied the other rest area near Indus River and its case is also in court,” he said.

He said it is one of the busiest motorways in the country as on average 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles move on it daily.