Retrieve graveyard land from encroachers or face the music, court warns

Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court gives last warning to all DCOs, DROs

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has warned all district coordination officers and district revenue officers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) to retrieve encroached graveyard lands in their jurisdiction, or else contempt of court proceedings will be initiated against them.

Hearing a petition filed by around 70 people requesting recovery of encroached graveyard land, Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan and Mrs Justice Irshad Qaisar, heading a division bench of the PHC, expressed concern over delay in action against the land grabbers.

“The authorities are under pressure,” CJ Khan observed, but warned the officials not to come under political pressure else contempt of court proceedings will be initiated against them.

“We know that elections are at hand and politicians will never allow action against their voters,” CJ Khan added. He asked the officials concerned to give the court a deadline by which they will retrieve the encroached land. He also ordered the officials to submit a progress report with the court and site any political interference they face.

Peshawar

District Revenue Officer (DRO) Peshawar informed the bench that the process of retrieving encroached graveyard land is underway. He said that 441 kanals and 19 marlas have been retrieved from the land grabbers, of which 50 kanals have been handed over to the Auqaf Department.

Earlier on April 2, the then District Coordination Officer (DCO) Peshawar, Siraj Ahmad Khanm, had informed a division bench of PHC that approximately 9.75 acres, out of almost 11 acres donated by the Auqaf Department, had been encroached upon.

Mansehra

DCO Mansehra’s representative informed the bench that a total of 32 kanals and 6 marlas have been recovered from a total 47 kanals of encroached land in Mansehra. He added that 15 kanals could not be recovered due to rains and floods in the area.

Officials from the revenue department informed the court that 300 kanals of encroached graveyard land has been recovered, adding that 45 shops built on the area have been demolished.

Mardan

Officials representing DRO Mardan informed the bench that 119 kanals and 3 marlas of encroached graveyard land have been recovered, while 90 kanals still remains encroached. The officials said that some people had approved stay orders against the department for retrieving 2 kanals from the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2012.