The CAA had granted the institute permission to raise the building 15 feet above the ground but the agreement was violated, he said. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has abandoned the construction of a vocational training institute in Chitral following a notification by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The notice was served for allegedly raising the building in violation of an agreement reached between the government and the CAA.
According to CAA officials, an agreement had been signed in 1992 to construct the building of one Vocational Training Institute. However, when construction started recently, it was found that the building was allegedly being raised in violation of the National Airfield Clearance Policy, 1994.
“We had to serve a notice to the institute,” said a CAA official requesting anonymity. The CAA had granted the institute permission to raise the building 15 feet above the ground but the agreement was violated, he said.
Around 12 cases have been filed against the violators, added the official. This was the first time a government institute had encroached and built a building there along illegal parameters, he claimed.
CAA Spokesperson Abid Qaimkhani could not be reached despite
several attempts.
Technical Education Director General Shakil Ahmad told The Express Tribune the project has been removed from the annual development programme and the vocational centre will not be constructed. There is no need to discuss the issue anymore, he added.
A bumpy history
On January 18, 2013 the CAA threatened to shut down all air operations at Chitral Airport following illegal construction within the limits of the airport runway.
In a letter addressed to then K-P chief secretary Ghulam Dastagir, the authority complained a senior official had violated the Federal Land Building Possession Act LIV, 1965 by wrongful construction.
On January 24, 2013, the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) Mingora bench ordered a stop to the construction of Deputy Commissioner Rehmatullah Wazir’s house, which falls within the limits of the Chitral Airport runway.
On December 5, former CAA spokesman Pervez George was quoted as saying the CAA had been trying to stop illegal construction around the airport runway. The CAA will seek the help of the police against people who are breaking the law, George had added.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2014.
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