PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has barred the Charsadda district administration from acquiring agricultural property, primarily for the production of lotus root, to establish a dumping site, ruling that the entire operation is illegal.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Syed Arshad Ali ordered the district administration to seek an alternative site in collaboration with the province Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The details show that the court accepted a plea from landlord Mohammad Hashim Khan objecting to the government’s use of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act to take possession of his property in Charsadda city and turn it into a dump site.
Furthermore, Mumtaz Khan, the Deputy Director of the provincial EPA, informed the court that the land being acquired by the district administration for the proposed dump site was a farming region and was therefore unsuitable for the disposal of waste.
Additionally, insisting that it is a health and environmental concern for the residents of Majoki and surrounding regions in Charsadda, the petitioner asked the court to rule against the notification issued by the administration.
The petitioner’s counsel, quoting a report from the sub-engineer, said that the location was suitable for growing lotus root because it was close to a residential area and had standing water, adding that the notification was made in a hurry “under the guise of the high court directives.”
