Assembly session: Peshawar’s farmlands depleting rapidly due to urbanisation
Revenue minister tells lawmakers policy being formulated to protect public agriculture land
PESHAWAR:
Lawmakers raised concerns over the decline of agricultural land in Peshawar and Nowshera over the past 14 years in Friday’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session.
The house learnt that since 2000-2001, Peshawar and Nowshera have respectively lost 3,307 and 6,865.5 acres of agricultural land. In a written response to a query made by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MPA Mufti Syed Janan, the Revenue and Estate department acknowledged that the increasing population is affecting the provincial capital’s farmland.
According to the department, as per statics provided by the Peshawar deputy commissioner, in 2000-2001 Peshawar had 109,883 acres of agricultural land which has now declined to 106, 576. The more than 3,000 acres lost have been turned into human settlement areas.
Nowshera district experienced even more rapid urbanisation than the provincial capital. In 2000, the district had 289,094 acres of farmland which has now decreased to 282,228.5 acres.
MPA Mufti Syed Janan said agricultural lands in Mardan, Swabi, Peshawar and other districts are facing threats because population increase is leading to the needs for more residential colonies. “Rapid urbanisation is a nightmarish scenario because the increasing population also needs a greater quantity of food,” said Janan.
Minister for Revenue and Estate Ali Amin Gandapur said the government is unable to control the conversion of farmland to housing colonies because people sell off their private lands. But he stated the government would protect public farmland from falling prey to urbanisation. “The Planning and Development department is formulating a policy for this,” said Gandapur.
However, Janan was not satisfied with the revenue minister’s response and insisted the government should come up with clear policy on the matter.
Consequently, Speaker Asad Qaiser directed the revenue minister to present a policy in the house within three months.
Quetta attack
The house also passed a unanimous resolution condemning the attack on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Quetta on Thursday. Janan was again the lawmaker who raised the issue on a point of order at the start of the session. Janan said his party has always opposed armed struggle in the country and would continue to do so despite this attack.
Information minister Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani condemned the attack on behalf of the government. Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Babak, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sardar Nalhota, PPP’s Mohammad Ali Shah Baacha and other MPAs also condemned the attack.
A resolution demanding that the Lowari Tunnel, which connects Dir and Chitral, remain open for three days a week was also passed unanimously.
Delay in power project
On an adjournment motion, ANP’s Syed Jaffar Shah raised the issue of scraping the 44 megawatt Mataltan hydropower project in Swat. According to Shah, the previous ANP government initiated the project at an estimated cost of Rs15 billion and also purchased land for it.
However, Minister for Energy and Power Mohammad Atif Khan clarified the project had not been dropped. Khan said the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has raised legal issues as the province could not execute hydel projects costing more than Rs10 billion. He added a subcommittee of the CDWP was looking into the matter.
The session was adjourned till Monday afternoon.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2014.
Lawmakers raised concerns over the decline of agricultural land in Peshawar and Nowshera over the past 14 years in Friday’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session.
The house learnt that since 2000-2001, Peshawar and Nowshera have respectively lost 3,307 and 6,865.5 acres of agricultural land. In a written response to a query made by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MPA Mufti Syed Janan, the Revenue and Estate department acknowledged that the increasing population is affecting the provincial capital’s farmland.
According to the department, as per statics provided by the Peshawar deputy commissioner, in 2000-2001 Peshawar had 109,883 acres of agricultural land which has now declined to 106, 576. The more than 3,000 acres lost have been turned into human settlement areas.
Nowshera district experienced even more rapid urbanisation than the provincial capital. In 2000, the district had 289,094 acres of farmland which has now decreased to 282,228.5 acres.
MPA Mufti Syed Janan said agricultural lands in Mardan, Swabi, Peshawar and other districts are facing threats because population increase is leading to the needs for more residential colonies. “Rapid urbanisation is a nightmarish scenario because the increasing population also needs a greater quantity of food,” said Janan.
Minister for Revenue and Estate Ali Amin Gandapur said the government is unable to control the conversion of farmland to housing colonies because people sell off their private lands. But he stated the government would protect public farmland from falling prey to urbanisation. “The Planning and Development department is formulating a policy for this,” said Gandapur.
However, Janan was not satisfied with the revenue minister’s response and insisted the government should come up with clear policy on the matter.
Consequently, Speaker Asad Qaiser directed the revenue minister to present a policy in the house within three months.
Quetta attack
The house also passed a unanimous resolution condemning the attack on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Quetta on Thursday. Janan was again the lawmaker who raised the issue on a point of order at the start of the session. Janan said his party has always opposed armed struggle in the country and would continue to do so despite this attack.
Information minister Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani condemned the attack on behalf of the government. Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Babak, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sardar Nalhota, PPP’s Mohammad Ali Shah Baacha and other MPAs also condemned the attack.
A resolution demanding that the Lowari Tunnel, which connects Dir and Chitral, remain open for three days a week was also passed unanimously.
Delay in power project
On an adjournment motion, ANP’s Syed Jaffar Shah raised the issue of scraping the 44 megawatt Mataltan hydropower project in Swat. According to Shah, the previous ANP government initiated the project at an estimated cost of Rs15 billion and also purchased land for it.
However, Minister for Energy and Power Mohammad Atif Khan clarified the project had not been dropped. Khan said the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has raised legal issues as the province could not execute hydel projects costing more than Rs10 billion. He added a subcommittee of the CDWP was looking into the matter.
The session was adjourned till Monday afternoon.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2014.