CDA barred from demolishing slums

IHC also directs IWMB to act against encroachment on Margalla Hills

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday barred the Capital Development Authority (CDA) from demolishing slums in the federal capital and issued notice to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) for assisting the court in the next hearing.

Apart from this, the IHC bench also issued notices to the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) for the appointment of senior lawyers, including Abid Hassan Manto, Abid Saqi, and Barrister Umar Ijaz Gilani, as amicus curiae.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah presided over the case on a notice sent by CDA to a resident of a slum area, Nazir Khan. Raja Sohail Abad appeared on behalf of the petitioner.

The court issued a written order and directed the housing ministry secretary to inform the court regarding the policy formulated by the government for slums in the next hearing.

The court also instructed CDA and Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) director general (DG) to submit a detailed report on the matter in the next hearing.

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The court asked the civic agency to inform why the dwellers of slum areas were not entitled to a plot on the state land. It went on to ask why the land is acquired and developed for the working class.

The petitioner’s lawyer said that the CDA issued a notice to demolish the slum on August 2. He informed that the applicant was living there for the past four decades with other people but the notices were issued to only a few neighbours.

The court remarked that the lower class lives in the slums while the lawyer said that the slums were seen differently by the authorities as compared to the influential class. The court adjourned the hearing of the case until August 25.

Moreover, the IHC instructed the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to take action against encroachments in Margalla Hills National Park.

Justice Minallah, hearing the case, expressed annoyance with the IWMB chairperson and asked what action the department had taken against the encroachment. What were the consequences of encroachment in the national park, he questioned.

The court asked the IWMB why Pakistan Navy and Air Force were not served notices for violations, adding that no one was above the law. IWMB Chairperson Rina Saeed Khan said that her department had taken no action as it had no such powers.

To this, the chief justice asked that what powers the IWMB have in this regard. IWMB's lawyer said that anyone could be given an imprisonment sentence along with a fine under IWMB Ordinance, 1979 while the board has powers of arrest under section 29.

The court observed that an effective law was available and there was a need for some amendments. The court instructed the board to take appropriate action under its law against the illegality and adjourned the hearing till August 27.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2021.