PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed Nowshera’s deputy commissioner and district police officer to take control ofa large piece of land of the University of Peshawar’s botanical garden in Azakhel area, whose lease was cancelled by the district administration.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Abdul Shakoor also asked the two officers not to allow construction on the ‘controversial’ land until further orders by the court.

It observed that it was strange that the district administration had cancelled the lease of the land on which a botanical garden of international level was to be constructed and that the existing garden had been destroyed.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by the UoP’s syndicate through its registrar and university’s vice-chancellor against the order of district nazim issued on Feb 3, 2016, for the cancellation of the lease of land measuring 567 kanals.

Stays construction on land until further orders

On Feb 24, 2014, the then chief minister, Pervez Khattak, had ordered the handover of around 500 kanals of the land of the botanical garden for setting up two other universities, including Air University and Technical University.

However, the high court had declared the order illegal on June 9, 2014. The Supreme Court upheld that verdict turning down the plea of the provincial government on the matter.

Later, Nowshera district nazim Liaquat Khattak, who is the brother of ex-CM Pervez Khattak, had ordered the cancellation of that land lease.

During the hearing, deputy prosecutor general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Mohammad Ali produced a report on the order of the court about the current situation on the matter.

The report declared that structures present on the controversial land were in shambles as the people had taken away even windows and doors of the buildings and that the botanical garden was in ruins.

It added that different departments had opposed the cancellation of the land lease but despite that, the district administration went ahead with it.

The report said the establishment of the botanical garden was in accordance with international conventions, while it was the responsibility of the provincial government to safeguard it.

It said the botanical garden’s director, Asadullah, had given application to the Azakhel police station for the registration of an FIR against the district administration for forcibly taking the possession of the land, but to no avail. He had also approached the senior superintendent of police but the latter didn’t take any action.

The report said the administration took the possession of land measuring 498 kanalsby force, whilethe infrastructure on it was ruined.

It said there was ‘no sign’ of Air University on the land and the administration had destroyed the project of international standard at the ‘behest of a few persons’.

The report said it was not mentioned anywhere in the lease agreement that it could be cancelled by the administration.

Asadullah and UoP assistant director (legal) Mohammad Riaz said the university’s syndicate had approved in Dec 2003 the establishment of the Centre of Plant Biodiversity, including a botanical garden in Azakhel.

They said the Higher Education Commission, in order to support the university in its efforts to establish the centre, had sanctioned a grant of Rs37.861 million.

They said the Nowshera district government had leased out land measuring 689 kanals to the university, for the establishment of the centre through a lease deed on Dec 16, 2005, for a period of 99 years.

Dr Asad said an academic block was also constructed on that land at the cost of Rs37 million but it was in ruins now.

Lawyers Abdul Samad Khan and Waseemuddin Khattak appeared for the university.

The district administration contended that the land in question belonged to the district government and it had not acted illegal by cancelling the lease.

It claimed that the university had utilised only a small piece of land, whereas rest of the land was lying useless.

The administration added that the land was given to the Air Foundation for setting up a university of international standard.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2022