Land acquisition period should’t be indefinite: IHC

[CMY]

A single bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) announced its verdict over the land acquisition case by binding the state institutions that the acquisition period should not exceed three years.

A single bench of Justice Syed Qalb-I-Hassan announced its decision over a writ petition filed by Raja Safeer Ahmed against Ministry of Defence. In its decision, the court said that the notice issued by the competent authority should not be for indefinite period, affecting land transaction in a particular area.

It says that any order passed against land transaction will become ineffective after the lapse of set period. Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani, senior advocate of Supreme Court and counsel for the petitioner, had apprised the bench that Ministry of Defence through a notification confiscated about 2,000 acres of land near Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology at Lethrar Road.

He said that the step by the concerned authorities was ultra vires to the Constitution and it was not permissible by the law of the land. He said such notification can be issued when a construction near sensitive area pose a hinderance in its functioning. “But here an owner of the land has been denied of his right to utilize his piece of land,” he added.

Gillani also claimed that this step also brought down the prices of land resulting in financial problems for the owner of the land. Counsels for the ministry defended the step by stating that the laws did exist to acquire public property and equal compensation had been done to the affected owners after determining its market prices.

They informed that under Work of Defence Act, 1903, government was entitled to issue a notification about acquisition of land falling within the proximity of 2,000 meters of its installations.

The law also permitted that no construction activity should take place in that area without permission from the concerned authorities, they added. They said that any activity posing security hazards would be stopped under the same law.

About compensation they said, a collector appointed by the government would determine decrease in prices of land if occurred but surely he would take all the issues in consideration while making compensation.The Court had reserved judgment over the issue last month.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=116452