Clearing away: Anti-encroachment drive kicks off

Anyone preventing officials from performing their work will be put behind bars.

PESHAWAR: The district administration of Peshawar will start anti-encroachment drive in Bala Mani Chowk from Wednesday (today) at 8am.

The provincial government had issued a notification on Monday to Peshawar DC Zahirul Islam voicing its intention to orchestrate anti-encroachment drives in Peshawar in 2015. The notification urged him to take immediate steps and crack down on illegal encroachments in the city.



The DC has directed officials from the revenue department, Municipal Corporation Peshawar (MCP), Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) to participate in the drive.

Anyone who creates unnecessary hurdles for officials and prevents them from performing their work would be put behind bars for violating Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance of 1960.

The drive has generated a mixed response among traders and shopkeepers. A large number of traders have billed the drive as a sham which is unlikely to bear fruit. They drew attention to the government’s failure to take strong and effective measures to deal with illegal encroachments in the past.

Wholesale business owner Haji Irshad Khan told The Express Tribune that the municipal administration allegedly receives bribes from illegal encroachers to let them off the hook.

“I have lodged complaints with the municipal administration regarding this malpractice,” he said. “I gave an application by hand to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak. However, no action has been taken against encroachers.”

Meanwhile, the Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajiran Sharafat Ali Mubarak group threw their weight behind the provincial government’s decision to root out encroachments in the city. However, they insisted that traders should also be taken into confidence to ensure that the problem is dealt with once and for all.

The group also threatened a strong reaction if municipal authorities acted without seeking permission from traders.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.