QAU plea against bypass project dismissed

IHC allows construction work on Bhara Kahu bypass project

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed a plea of the Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU)’s faculty, challenging the construction of the Bhara Kahu bypass project on land owned by the institute.

Islamabad High Court judge Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb announced the verdict reserved earlier, declaring that the construction of the project was unerring and immaculate.

Advocate Kashif Ali Malik pursued the case on behalf of the QAU professors.

Earlier, a report of a cabinet committee set up by the federal government on the dispute between the Capital Development Authority and the university was also presented in the court.

In the report, Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Dogal told the court that according to the committee's report, the Bhara Kahu bypass project did not violate the master plan of Islamabad.

He said that the CDA was empowered to construct roads in the public interest. He said that the educational activities of the QAU will not be affected by the construction of the road project as the university building was one kilometer away from the bypass.

At the last hearing, the CDA counsel had argued that not a single house would have to be demolished for the construction of the project. He had told the court that the QAU has had no lease agreement with the CDA during the last 40 years while all other institutions and universities in Islamabad have regular lease agreements with CDA.

There is also a clause in the lease agreement that the CDA can start any project on the land concerned in the public interest. He had told the court that the QAU has not even entered into a lease agreement and now efforts were being made to take advantage of it. If the university had a lease agreement, it must also have a provision for the use of the land for projects related to the public interest, he had argued.

Earlier, the cabinet committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for finalising recommendations on the Bhara Kahu bypass project passing through a portion of QAU said in its recommendations that the project was vital to the public interest.

The cabinet committee headed by Minister for Law and Justice Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb had said that the road project is as per the CDA and Islamabad Capital Territory master plan and bylaws.

The cabinet committee had said that the completion of the project will improve the flow of traffic on Murree Road and make it easier for commuters. Therefore, it said the federal cabinet should implement the recommendations of the committee.

The recommendations further stated that the CDA should fulfill the promises made to the Quaid-e-Azam University and formulate rules and regulations in light of the amendments made by the cabinet committee. The recommendations have been sent to the federal cabinet for approval.

The cabinet committee also had Adviser to PM on Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira, the federal interior secretary, the federal education secretary, the CDA chairman, the QAU vice-chancellor and Deputy Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal as members.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2022.