MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court has dismissed five petitions filed by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), restricting it from interfering in plots developed by Mirpur Development Authority (MDA) on unused land originally acquired in the 1960s for the construction of the Mangla Dam reservoir.

The order was issued by Chief Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja, who accepted three petitions filed between 2019 and 2020 by seven residents who had started constructions on these plots following allotments and relevant permissions by MDA.

Since all eight petitions involved similar factual and legal questions, they were heard together and decided through a single judgement.

In petitions 527/2019, 633/2019, and 72/2020, the petitioners (MDA allottees) argued that MDA had lawfully sold them plots in Sub Sector F/3, Part V, Phase I, Mirpur, which were registered in their names.

Following the allocation, MDA’s Director of Estate Management handed over possession and authorised the construction of boundary walls. However, Wapda officials allegedly interrupted the process, threatening to demolish existing structures and void the allotments. The petitioners sought protection against any interference from Wapda.

Wapda argued that MDA had revised sector plans and added plots to Sector F/3 without obtaining prior approval. It sought cancellation of the revised plans and an injunction preventing MDA from issuing any further allotments or construction permissions.

Summarising both parties’ positions, Chief Justice Raja referenced records showing that while the land was acquired for Wapda, it remains under the AJK government’s sovereignty, as per the 1967 agreement.

The agreement stipulates that any unused land would revert to the AJK government. Consequently, Wapda was only in possession due to funding, while the AJK government retained actual ownership.

Chief Justice Raja noted that Wapda had previously transferred unused land to MDA in exchange for compensation.

“Having relinquished possession and received compensation, Wapda has no further claim on the land,” he observed.

He added that “bona fide purchasers cannot be disturbed on grounds of funding origins, as their ownership rights are protected.”

Regarding Wapda’s stance that any unused land could not be repurposed without its approval, the court ruled that the contested land was indeed owned by the AJK government, as confirmed by records from 1991-92.

The court dismissed Wapda’s assertion that MDA had exceeded its authority, clarifying that MDA’s jurisdiction encompassed specified areas under the MDA Act.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2024