The chief minister’s decision to hand over parts of the University of Peshawar’s (UoP) botanical garden in Azakhel, Nowshera for the construction of two universities has been challenged at the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
A petition was filed by Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) President Dr Fazl Nasir and general secretary Fayaz Ali through their counsel Mian Mohibullah Kakakhel on Saturday.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government through the chief secretary, secretary higher education department, chief minister (CM), secretary local government and rural development along with UoP registrar has been cited as the respondent.
“On February 24, the CM presided over an official meeting and decided that the botanical garden and Center of Plant Biodiversity belonging to UoP shall be shrunk from 677 to 100 kanals as land will be given to the Air University and a technical university,” states the petition.
It claims the decision is without jurisdiction and lawful authority as the land belongs to UoP where the Higher Education Commission has invested a huge sum for establishing the botanical garden, the centre and a public park.
“The CM on one hand campaigns for the green growth initiative on which millions of rupees are spent, while on the other he is demolishing a recreational park and garden used for research,” it adds.
“The decision will endanger the future of 200 students of BS (Hons) and MPhil/PhD scholars studying biodiversity conservation and around 100 faculty members, researchers, ministerial, laboratory and other support staff,” maintains the petition.
If the petition is accepted, the respondents concerned may be directed to act in accordance with the law and the decision taken by the CM on February 24 may be declared illegal, without jurisdiction and lawful authority besides being mala fide for political considerations and arbitrary. The concerned respondents may also be restrained from taking any step towards handing over the above-mentioned property of the UoP to any other university.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2014.
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History it appears is repeating itself. The Azakhel Botanical Garden was created as a consequence of the civil society protests and because of the personal intervention of HEC Minister Ata sb after the VC of Peshawar Uni had chopped down the UoP Botnanical Garden in 2003. http://www.dawn.com/news/1072811/wild-as-they-come late Ardshir Cowasjee penned down this article in 2003. ... Come 2014 and the same forces that were in favour of construction over green belts and open spaces are active once again. Botanical Garden Azakhel is an internationally recognised garden. It is yet to be developed fully as a botanical garden (for practical reasons it is being done phasewise due to its sheer size) To use that as a pretext and occupying the yet unplanted area of the Botanical Garden for construction of a Uni is simply not justifiable