IHC suspends land acquisition bid in Sihala
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended a notification regarding the acquisition of 188 kanals of land in Sihala issued to Defence Housing Authority (DHA) by the apex civic authority of the federal capital.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah presided over the petitions filed by Kaneez Fatima and two other widows on Thursday.
The court issued notices to the district collector, DHA, and Capital Development Authority (CDA) to submit answers until June 21. The petitioners had challenged the notification of March 19 regarding the acquisition of the land on Sihala.
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The petitioner's counsel maintained that the land in Islamabad could only be acquired with CDA’s approval and according to the master plan and only under public interest unlike private interest in the pertaining matter.
Land allotment case
In another case, the high court reserved its verdict in a case pertaining to illegal land allotment on the greenbelt after respondents summed up arguments.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the cases regarding illegal plot allotment on the greenbelt in sector G-11. CDA’s counsel admitted that the authority issued a notification regarding plot allotment on greenbelt and uploaded it on its website.
The applicant’s counsel argued that it was not permissible to displace the greenbelt for a residential or commercial site in a residential sector. He added that CDA neither issued an advertisement nor consulted with the respective locals.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11h, 2021.