PESHAWAR: A controversy has surfaced over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision to sell ‘unutilised’ land of three public sector universities and a medical college in Mardan to pay Rs25 billion arrears to owners of the land it acquired in 2009.

The Awami National Party-led coalition government had acquired 5,000 kanals of land for establishment of Bacha Khan Greater Education Complex in Mardan.

Three public sector universities including Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, University of Engineering and Technology Mardan, Amir Mohammad Khan campus of Agricultural University Peshawar and Bacha Khan Medical College Mardan were established there.

Of the total acquired land, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan was established on 2,000 kanals, Amir Mohammad Khan campus of AUP on 1,488 kanals, UET Mardan on 400 kanals and Bacha Khan Medical College on 1,000 kanals.

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An official of the higher education department told Dawn that the government purchased the land at Rs2,800 per marla in 2009 and paid the entire amount to owners.

However, later owners approached Peshawar High Court against price fixation of their land. Several years later, PHC fixed the price of the land at Rs125,000 per marla, he said.

He added that the government had not paid the price fixed by the court to owners of land.

Provincial Minister for Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi told Dawn that the provincial cabinet had formed a ministerial committee to decide fate of the arrears.

“Now the ministerial committee has decided to sale out the unutilised land of these universities and medical college to pay Rs25 billion arrears to the owners of the land,” he said.

He said the provincial government directed the three universities and medical college to make a master plan of their respective institutions and identify the land to be sold.

As per decision of the government, the land identified for the sale would be offered to the owners to purchase, the minister said. He added that if the owners refused, it would be open for bidding to other people.

He said Awami National Party was politicising the issue. “Why it didn’t pay the proper amount at that time,” he questioned.

An official told Dawn that once the land was identified for the sale, then its final approval would be taken from the syndicates of the universities and board of governors of the medical college.

Mayor of tehsil council Mardan Himayatullah Mayar told Dawn that being an elected representative of locals he would soon challenge the decision in court of law.

He said neither Afghanistan, which remained a battlefield for the last 45 years, nor the countries involved in World War-I and World War-II had sold land of educational institutions to meet their financial needs.

“The people of Madran have concerns over the decision to sale out universities’ land,” he said. He said that availability of additional land with any educational institution was the basic requirement for its extension in future.

“For instance, during the establishment of University of Peshawar, additional land was provided on which later on Islamia College University, University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, Agricultural University Peshawar, several colleges, schools and other institutions were established,” said Mr Mayar.

He said how the universities and medical college would be extended in the future in Mardan if government sold the land.

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao has also opposed the decision and said that it belied the claims of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government about declaring education emergency in the province.

According to a statement issued here, he said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had been ruling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for third straight term but it failed to work for welfare of people. “Selling the land acquired

for educational complex is violation of relevant laws,” he said.

He added that under the law, a piece of land once acquired for a project should be used for that specific purpose. The QWP leader said that the bid to sell the land was a classic example of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s poor economic management.

He said that it would set a bad precedent. “This shows that PTI has miserably failed to run the economic affairs of the province and it has now started selling provincial assets,” he alleged.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2024