Govt stayed from procuring land in Malakand

PHC seeks reply from govt on plans to build cement factory in predominantly agricultural area

PESHAWAR: The high court on Thursday stopped the provincial government from acquiring land in the Palai area of Malakand to allow a private company to build a cement factory.

A two-judge green bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Syed Afsar Shah, issued the stay order after conducting preliminary hearings of a petition submitted by 16 villagers of the area against the acquisition of land.

The bench further directed the respondents to submit their replies in the case by the next hearing of the case.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government had imposed section 4 of the land acquisition act to procure 3,200 kanals of land to build the factory.

However, locals of the area told the court that the government was disregarding environmental impacts of the move, evidenced by how the government had not even completed the mandatory environmental assessment for the project before issuing section 4 for such a vast agricultural area.

The petition, submitted to the court by Ali Muhammad and 15 other residents of Palai in Tehsil Batkhela, argued that the factory would have very hazardous impacts on the environment of the area which is known for its citrus orchards and greenery.

The petitioners, who own agricultural as well as residential lands in the area, said that like most people in the locality, they earn their livelihood through the orchards and other agriculture.

“The area of Palai is known globally for its serene lush green fields in general and the famed citrus orchards in particular,” the petitioner told the court “It (construction of factory) is against all laws and protocols signed by the K-P and the federal government with the international community.”

They requested the court to declare government notification under the Land Acquisition Act as illegal, unlawful and in violation of rights of the residents apart from being a health and environmental hazard.

“The construction will finish off the entire citrus and peach tree population from the area for which Palai is famous for throughout the country,” said Ali Gohar Durrani, the lawyer for the petitioners.

“There are also countless trees that would be brought down as well as the agricultural land that would go barren.”

The lawyer also challenged the legality of the section 4 notification, stating, “The letter of section 4 issued under the Land Acquisition Act in Palai area is signed only by the General Manager of the cement company and not by any government official, yet it has been circulated as an official document.”

He asked the court to declare the move by the K-P government to grant a no-objection certificate (NOC) to any cement manufacturer to establish cement plant in Palai or any other agricultural land or a populated area as illegal, unlawful and without jurisdiction as the same is based on mala fide and ulterior motives as well as actions taken in complete disregard/negation to the national and international laws.

The bench granted a stay and directed the respondents, including the K-P government through the chief secretary, K-P Environment Protection Agency director general, Malakand Deputy Commissioner and Industries secretary to submit replies in the case and adjourned the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2018.